How to Make Dutch Split Pea Soup (Erwentensoep or Snert)
| The cold snap has descended and you are longing for a delicious soup recipe to keep you warm this winter. Why not try this Dutch classic this weekend?
This is an amazing soup. It’s perfect for winter and I fell in love with it on a recent trip to the Netherlands. When it is made right it is thick enough for a spoon to stand straight up in it.
Split pea soup is also known as snert, which I’m sure you can figure out from the colour what that means! So grab a bowl and snuggle up on the sofa.
Ingredients
- 300g dried green split peas
- 100 g thick-cut bacon
- 1 head of celery
- 2-3 carrots, sliced
- 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 small leek, sliced
- 100g celeriac, cubed
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- a handful of sliced smoked sausage plus extra to garnish
Instructions
- Place the split peas and bacon in a large stock pot together with 1.75l of cold water and bring to the boil.
- Skim off any froth forming on top as the pot starts to boil.
- Once boiling gently, cover the pot and leave to simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add all the vegetables to the boiling broth and leave to cook for another 30 minutes.
- Add extra water if needed.
- Add the smoked sausage.
- When the vegetables are tender, remove the bacon and smoked sausage and puree the remaining soup.
- Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Add the meat back to the soup and reheat.
Serve the soup garnished with extra slices of smoked sausage!
