Pea Soup [Recipes]
2007 May 24
Now that was good! I will definately make it again. Thanks Z.
Our households' fave is a little more involved and actually a medieval recipe, but its good too. To make Veg Friendly just replace the beef stock with a vegetable one.
Onion-Pea Soup
Menagier de Paris
3-4 Onions (I use Vidalias or other sweet onion)
1/4 cup Butter
5 cups Beef Stock
2 cups Pea Purée (see below)
1 cup fresh chopped Parsley
2 tbsp Lemon Juice or White Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp ground Pepper
Cut onions into thin slices. Sauté in butter until lightly brown.
In soup pot heat beef bouillon. Stir in the pea purée.
Add parsley, lemon juice or wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes.
Serve.
Pea Purée
2 cups cooked fresh, frozen or reconstituted* dried peas or canned peas**
1/2 - 3/4 cups Liquid
Set aside the cooking liquid or liquid from the can.
In a food mill, blender or food processor purée the peas, adding sufficient of the cooking liquid to form a thick purée. Store covered in the refrigerator or freezer if purée is to be kept more than 3-4 days.
Notes
* To reconstitute dried peas: wash and cull them, discarding any discoloured or withered ones. To 1 cup dried peas, add 3 cups warm water. Soak overnight. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender. About ¾-2 hours. Purée as above.
** Use white or yellow split peas. Canned peas will not need further cooking; drain and reserve the liquid.
Our households' fave is a little more involved and actually a medieval recipe, but its good too. To make Veg Friendly just replace the beef stock with a vegetable one.
Onion-Pea Soup
Menagier de Paris
3-4 Onions (I use Vidalias or other sweet onion)
1/4 cup Butter
5 cups Beef Stock
2 cups Pea Purée (see below)
1 cup fresh chopped Parsley
2 tbsp Lemon Juice or White Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp ground Pepper
Cut onions into thin slices. Sauté in butter until lightly brown.
In soup pot heat beef bouillon. Stir in the pea purée.
Add parsley, lemon juice or wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes.
Serve.
Pea Purée
2 cups cooked fresh, frozen or reconstituted* dried peas or canned peas**
1/2 - 3/4 cups Liquid
Set aside the cooking liquid or liquid from the can.
In a food mill, blender or food processor purée the peas, adding sufficient of the cooking liquid to form a thick purée. Store covered in the refrigerator or freezer if purée is to be kept more than 3-4 days.
Notes
* To reconstitute dried peas: wash and cull them, discarding any discoloured or withered ones. To 1 cup dried peas, add 3 cups warm water. Soak overnight. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender. About ¾-2 hours. Purée as above.
** Use white or yellow split peas. Canned peas will not need further cooking; drain and reserve the liquid.
Jun 18
Tonight I'm trying an experiment I've been wanting to try for a long time - measure out the raw ingredients into individual mason jars, and then can in the pressure canner to cook it.
Still not exactly sure what to do, but I'll figure it out :-)
Still not exactly sure what to do, but I'll figure it out :-)
Jun 22
zym- cook your peas half way and cool them before you start. Then measure the rest of the stuff out and place in jars.
Jun 22
As it turned out I didn't try this because my wife usurped the pork I had set aside for it. But I will try it soon - and I'm going to try it without pre-cooking the peas because that's they way I've always wanted to try it :-)
Jun 25
OK, here's what I did.
WARNING!!! I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA IF THIS IS CONSIDERED SAFE!!!
That having been said, I've read quite a bit about home canning in the last 12 or 13 years, and I personally think it is.
For my first batch I just did 2 jars because I was not sure on the amount of peas to use. In one I used 1/4 cup, and in the other 1/3 cup. I just ate the one with 1/4 cup and it was an absolutely fantastic soup! Though a bit watery for a pea soup. So I'm going with 1/3 cup in the batch of 5 jars that I just put into the pressure cooker.
In each 500ml mason jar put :
- 1/4 or 1/3 cup split peas
- 3 pepper corns
- 2 smidgens salt (1/16th tsp)
- 2 heaping tablespoons chopped carrots
- 1/4 medium onion, chopped (will measure next time)
- 1/4 cup chopped pork
This will fill the jars about half way each.
In my case I used a jar of the leftover pork from BSNBB. Remember the big smiling pig, and how I carted the carcass back home to can it all up? Well, I opened 1 x 1 litre jar and used almost all of it for 7 jars of soup. I first drained off the broth and saved it. Then I chopped the meat fairly small. I mixed the broth with about a litre of water which I thought would be about right for my use.
Now fill each jar to about the 2/3 level with the broth (or just water if that's all you have). Stir the contents well to mix. The peas will really stick to the bottom of the jar well, so be sure to stir them all about. Now fill the jars the rest of the way with your broth and/or water. I filled to just a hair above my normal fill level because carrots and onions both have a fair bit of air in them, and these are raw.
Now use your normal canning method - PRESSURE CANNER REQUIRED! Clean the jar rims, fit lids and rims, etc. I processed the jars for 25 minutes at 15 psi. You should process according to what you feel is safe.
The soup made with 1/4 cup peas was FANTASTIC! I will have one made with 1/3 cup tomorrow for lunch and will report back.
WARNING!!! I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA IF THIS IS CONSIDERED SAFE!!!
That having been said, I've read quite a bit about home canning in the last 12 or 13 years, and I personally think it is.
For my first batch I just did 2 jars because I was not sure on the amount of peas to use. In one I used 1/4 cup, and in the other 1/3 cup. I just ate the one with 1/4 cup and it was an absolutely fantastic soup! Though a bit watery for a pea soup. So I'm going with 1/3 cup in the batch of 5 jars that I just put into the pressure cooker.
In each 500ml mason jar put :
- 1/4 or 1/3 cup split peas
- 3 pepper corns
- 2 smidgens salt (1/16th tsp)
- 2 heaping tablespoons chopped carrots
- 1/4 medium onion, chopped (will measure next time)
- 1/4 cup chopped pork
This will fill the jars about half way each.
In my case I used a jar of the leftover pork from BSNBB. Remember the big smiling pig, and how I carted the carcass back home to can it all up? Well, I opened 1 x 1 litre jar and used almost all of it for 7 jars of soup. I first drained off the broth and saved it. Then I chopped the meat fairly small. I mixed the broth with about a litre of water which I thought would be about right for my use.
Now fill each jar to about the 2/3 level with the broth (or just water if that's all you have). Stir the contents well to mix. The peas will really stick to the bottom of the jar well, so be sure to stir them all about. Now fill the jars the rest of the way with your broth and/or water. I filled to just a hair above my normal fill level because carrots and onions both have a fair bit of air in them, and these are raw.
Now use your normal canning method - PRESSURE CANNER REQUIRED! Clean the jar rims, fit lids and rims, etc. I processed the jars for 25 minutes at 15 psi. You should process according to what you feel is safe.
The soup made with 1/4 cup peas was FANTASTIC! I will have one made with 1/3 cup tomorrow for lunch and will report back.
Jun 26
The one with 1/3 cup of peas is a bit thick even for pea soup. I may do my next batch with 1/4 again. Or perhaps just a tad more than 1/4. Though I guess it would not matter since most people would put it into a bowl at which point it could be diluted with water. But I eat them at work right out of the jar, so too thick is a bit more problematic.
Jun 27
I did the next batch with a bit more than 1/4 (a heaping quarter) and it was about perfect. I also put a bit more salt, and this time ground pepper. And realised that I'd forgotten the bay leaf in the above so put a small piece in each jar maybe the size of an index fingernail.
Jun 28
Sorry to throw water on your parade, but the manual with my All-American brand pressure canner, which I have used about 20 years now, specifically warns against pressure cooking pea soup because, it says in capital letters: "DO NOT COOK SPLIT PEA SOUP IN YOUR COOKER, AS IT WILL FOAM, FROTH AND SPUTTER. THIS ACTION MAY CLOG THE VENT PIPE." However, I expect the problem would be minimized when canning split peas contained in a jar ... But is it worth finding out when a countertop slow cooker does the same job with no risk?
I also note that recommended pressure canning times from the USDA at 10 PSI is 90 minutes (1-quart jars) for pork (or, for that matter, 75 minutes per quart for chicken soup, or 90 minutes for stewed chicken). No pressure above 10 pounds is recommended for canning unless you live at high altitudes and must compensate for that. Best to consult a canning book, because with botulism you seldom get a second chance to try again.
I also note that recommended pressure canning times from the USDA at 10 PSI is 90 minutes (1-quart jars) for pork (or, for that matter, 75 minutes per quart for chicken soup, or 90 minutes for stewed chicken). No pressure above 10 pounds is recommended for canning unless you live at high altitudes and must compensate for that. Best to consult a canning book, because with botulism you seldom get a second chance to try again.
Jun 28
You'd better re-check your manual because the pea soup warning is for cooking a batch of pea soup inside the cooker - i.e. when using it like a pot. I read that in my manual too. The reason is that the splatter can clog the inside of the vent holes in the lid, causing a failure of the vents. This can cause the cooker to explode. I actually know a guy from Newfoundland whose aunt had that happen to her - my comment to him was "I guess she didn't read the manual because it tells you specifically not to do that". (Actually, with her I seem to recall it was beans, but same thing). In any case, there is no danger whatsoever in canning pea soup inside of jars. This is the intended purpose of the pressure canner in the first place. And a countertop slow cooker should never be used for canning! Holy moly!
I'm also using pint jars so the cooking times are a lot less than what you quoted for quarts. The long times e.g. for pork are meant for when you are stuffing the jar full of pork and nothing else. Soup with a bit of pork in it is another matter completely. And I'm pretty sure I've never read that you should never use more the 10 psi. I have read that you should minimize the use of 15 psi because it can wreak havok on the texture of the food inside. But with pea soup that's actually a desired result. And as far as botulism goes, 15psi would be considered erring on the side of caution. More is better when it comes to botulism. I always use 15psi for anything with meat in it.
All that having been said, I am due for a cover-to-cover re-reading of my Putting Food By. It's been a few years now. Every year I read the pages for whatever item I'm canning at the time, but I haven't read the whole thing in some time.
In any case, I'm certain that what I'm doing is safe. My dire warning was simply something to keep the lawyers happy. I usually issue that sort of dire warning whenever I'm talking about home canning, precisely because I want to encourage people to read a book on it. And because I don't want anyone trying my procedure and then suing me.
I'm also using pint jars so the cooking times are a lot less than what you quoted for quarts. The long times e.g. for pork are meant for when you are stuffing the jar full of pork and nothing else. Soup with a bit of pork in it is another matter completely. And I'm pretty sure I've never read that you should never use more the 10 psi. I have read that you should minimize the use of 15 psi because it can wreak havok on the texture of the food inside. But with pea soup that's actually a desired result. And as far as botulism goes, 15psi would be considered erring on the side of caution. More is better when it comes to botulism. I always use 15psi for anything with meat in it.
All that having been said, I am due for a cover-to-cover re-reading of my Putting Food By. It's been a few years now. Every year I read the pages for whatever item I'm canning at the time, but I haven't read the whole thing in some time.
In any case, I'm certain that what I'm doing is safe. My dire warning was simply something to keep the lawyers happy. I usually issue that sort of dire warning whenever I'm talking about home canning, precisely because I want to encourage people to read a book on it. And because I don't want anyone trying my procedure and then suing me.
zymurgist
Add to the slow cooker while not on :
4 cups split peas (I used yellow, but you can use green)
2 cups finely chopped carrots
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper (or more to taste)
2 cups finely chopped smoked pork
Add 4 US quarts boiling water.
Turn slow cooker on high and cook for 4 hours.
I used smoked pork that was left over from Big Strange Brew last weekend - it was pork tenderloin that I smoked myself.