Pea soup was made by the French colonists who came over to New France. It was mostly built from ingredients they could carry on the ship from France with a long shelf life, like dried peas, cured pork, and lard.
I’m not sure where the celery is coming from, since it has a short shelf life, unlike onions or carrots. Turns out I’m not alone in wondering — some traditional recipes for Habitant pea soup skip celery entirely, so it may well be a later addition rather than part of the original shipboard staples.
Nevertheless, as a Québécois, this soup reminds me of when I was a kid and my mom would serve us a nice pea soup out of a Habitant can.
This soup freezes very well — just let it cool, put it in an airtight container, and let it take a cryogenic nap in the freezer.
(Experiment 255) Pea soup
Ingredients
- 20 g butter
- 470 g yellow dried split peas
- 2-3 bay leaf
- pinch savory
- 3 stalks of celery diced
- 2 diced carrots
- 1 diced onion
- 4 cups vegetable stock
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt the butter and soften the carrots, onion, and celery. Meanwhile, rinse the pea under cold water. After 2-3 minutes add the peas, bay leaves, savory, and the stock. Cover and simmer for about an hour. Give it a swirl every 20 minutes or so. If it’s becoming too thick, add more stock or water. I had to add about an extra cup.
- Remove the bay leaves. Do a taste test and adjust with salt and pepper.
