This blog is all about healthy, home-cooked food, especially for young people. That’s why we always feature dishes with inexpensive ingredients that have been somewhat forgotten, but which enrich the home kitchen.
Pea stew is one such dish. It can easily be made vegetarian or vegan, even though we are describing the classic version here. The ingredients cost very little and the stew can easily be prepared in large quantities for many people or several meals. Like many stews, especially those with pulses, it often tastes even better when reheated.
For this you need dried peas, which are available in green and yellow colour. Both types are suitable. Dried peas need to be soaked overnight in plenty of water before you can cook them the next day. If you can buy split peas, it is much quicker. The skin has been removed from these peas and you can cook them straight away.
Bacon, onions, celery, carrots and leeks are also traditionally used. However, all other root vegetables and potatoes are also suitable.
Cut the bacon into pieces of a convenient size. If there is any rind on it, don’t throw it away, but cook it along with the bacon and remove it later. Fry both briefly in a little oil in a large, high pot to render out the fat. The bacon may take on a light colour, but should not be roasted until brown.
Drain and add the soaked peas. If you are using split peas, only rinse them briefly and then add them to the pot. In both cases, triple the amount of water is needed, i.e. 750 ml of water for 250 g of peas (dry weight). If you have vegetable stock in the house, you can use this instead of water to add more flavour. A bay leaf is also added.
Everything is brought to a gentle boil and cooked over a low heat with the lid on for 40 minutes.
In the meantime, clean, peel and dice the vegetables. Not too finely, as they should give the stew some bite later. We therefore add the vegetables later so that they are not overcooked.
After this time, some of the peas have already disintegrated and that’s how it should be. The peas need just over 60 minutes in total to be fully cooked.
The vegetables are now added and seasoned with a little dried marjoram, salt and pepper. You may need to add a little more water to achieve the desired consistency.
Traditionally, finely chopped Vienna sausages or the spicier Debrecziner sausages are often also put in. That’s up to your taste.
All of this now cooks for another 20 minutes with the lid on a low heat until the vegetables are soft. If you are also using potatoes, 20 minutes is the minimum time to cook them.
Then finally season to taste with salt and pepper. We also recommend adding a small dash of vinegar for a slight acidity (you can use both light and dark vinegar, including balsamic vinegar).
And then it’s ready to serve. A very simple, healthy, inexpensive and delicious dish – especially in the cold season.
Enjoy.
And may the taste be with you.
Ingredients ( for 4 people):
250 – 300 g dried peas ( split peas if possible)
1 tbsp neutral oil
100 g bacon (may be left out)
Optional: vegetable stock (otherwise water)
1 bay leaf
1 – 2 onions
500 g or more vegetables to taste (e.g. celery, carrots, leek, kohlrabi)
Optional: potatoes (waxy) and/or sausages ( Vienna, Debrecziner)
Marjoram, salt and pepper
1 tbsp vinegar
Optional: parsley or chives
Up here for a Christmas menu Pea Soup, we boil a pigs foot to make stock. Some of this is used with the meat to make sült, a Baltic version of head cheese, or meat jelly; the rest goes into the soup
This preparation is known in Germany as well and called „Sülze“ or „Sulz“. The mere jelly is also called „Aspik“. However, it has pretty much gone out of fashion with the younger generation.