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.
2008 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.
2008 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.
2008 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.
2008 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.
2009 Aug 2
OK, I've got a smoked ham hock in the freezer, and a real burning desire to turn it into pea soup! But I just loaded up the slow cooker with some Lentil Dahl! Gah! So, I can either wait til tomorrow to make my Pea Soup, or I can use Captain Caper's method of putting a pot in the oven.
Decisions, decisions ...
Decisions, decisions ...
2010 Apr 12
I put some in the slow cooker last night - wanted to use up a smoked turkey leg and a couple of smoked quail that I had in the freezer. I used some of my dehydrated carrots ( Forum - Dehydration Fun ) - they are truly fantastic and I'll be doing a lot more this year! I used 1 cup instead of the 2 cups of fresh carrots this recipe calls for.
2010 Apr 13
I made 2 different pea soups last week--one using the bone from an easter ham and one totally vegetarian. They were both yummy in different ways but surprisingly most tasters enjoyed the vegetarian version-meat eaters or not. Both versions had lots of onion, celery, carrots with bay leaf and herbe de provence as seasonings. Gotta love pea soup!
2010 Apr 15
Thanks, Zym, for sharing recipe and experience--here and in so many other threads--your enthusiasm for pushing boundaries inspires me to take some culinary risks. And special thanks for also posting the caveat about home canning of soup.
I did check on canning soup with meat in it--appears as though the recommended processing is 75 minutes at 11 pounds for quart jars of pea soup with meat--they also have some additional steps they recommend, such as full hydration of the peas before starting: www.uga.edu
Of course, the margin of error in these recommendations is intended to be large, so you are right that the absolute risk of fatal consequences with deviation from them is probably small. However, following them is risk-free. Like so many things in life, this isa personal choice about risks and benefits by those who bear them. I take my own risks with food (e.g., eating rare ground beef and raw eggs) because I judge the reward (yum) to be worth the small risk.
MZ
I did check on canning soup with meat in it--appears as though the recommended processing is 75 minutes at 11 pounds for quart jars of pea soup with meat--they also have some additional steps they recommend, such as full hydration of the peas before starting: www.uga.edu
Of course, the margin of error in these recommendations is intended to be large, so you are right that the absolute risk of fatal consequences with deviation from them is probably small. However, following them is risk-free. Like so many things in life, this isa personal choice about risks and benefits by those who bear them. I take my own risks with food (e.g., eating rare ground beef and raw eggs) because I judge the reward (yum) to be worth the small risk.
MZ
2011 May 9
I found a smoked pork hock in the freezer, and still have a few more winter carrots to pull from our garden so I decided that I'm going to use them in split pea soup. Then I was unable to find a recipe I was happy with in my cookbooks, so here I am.
I think I'm going to try one of the recipes listed above in my slow cooker, but I have to say, I'm very intrigued by the one Zymurgist posted to make in jars in a pressure canner.
So now I'm pondering two questions:
1) Is there any reason I shouldn't add the hock with bone right into the soup and let it fall apart on it's own? I just think a bone adds so much to a meal.
2) For the soup made right in the jars, are you adding dried peas, pre-soaked peas or cooked peas?
And you know, now that I've asked those two questions, are the peas in the slowcooker method pre-soaked?
I think I'm going to try one of the recipes listed above in my slow cooker, but I have to say, I'm very intrigued by the one Zymurgist posted to make in jars in a pressure canner.
So now I'm pondering two questions:
1) Is there any reason I shouldn't add the hock with bone right into the soup and let it fall apart on it's own? I just think a bone adds so much to a meal.
2) For the soup made right in the jars, are you adding dried peas, pre-soaked peas or cooked peas?
And you know, now that I've asked those two questions, are the peas in the slowcooker method pre-soaked?
2011 May 9
Here is my pea soup recipe. This one was modified since I didn't have a bone. I used bacon ends from Lavergne's instead. But when I have a bone, I put it in the water right away.
ottawafood.blogspot.com
I love pea soup! And thankfully there is some still from post Easter ham tucked away in the freezer. May just need to thaw a serving for lunch today thanks to you!
I prefer the split pea for ease. I have made pea soup with the whole peas but despite all the presoaking they were still too firm for my liking. If you are careful with the split peas you can avoid it going to mush.
I hope it goes well.
ottawafood.blogspot.com
I love pea soup! And thankfully there is some still from post Easter ham tucked away in the freezer. May just need to thaw a serving for lunch today thanks to you!
I prefer the split pea for ease. I have made pea soup with the whole peas but despite all the presoaking they were still too firm for my liking. If you are careful with the split peas you can avoid it going to mush.
I hope it goes well.
2011 May 9
organicgirl I don't do home canning so I can't help you with that... But to answer the rest of your questions:
Yes you can toss the pork hock right into the soup and let it fall apart on it's own. It will give the soup a nice flavour too.
If you cook the soup in your slow cooker there is no need to pre-soak the peas. (BTW even if you cook them on the stove top you don't need to pre-soak them.) I usually cook my split pea soup in the slow cooker on high for 4.5 hours.
If you are looking for a recipe I usually use the one in Anne Lindsay's Lighthearted Everyday Cooking:
2 cups dried yellow soup peas or split peas
10 cups water
1 ham bone or 1/4 lb. ham, chopped
5 medium onions, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery (including leaves), chopped
1 tsp. summer savory
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
Rinse peas. In large soup pot, combine peas, water, ham bone or hame, onions, carrots, celery, summer sasvory and bay leaf; bring to boil. Skim off any scum. Cover and simmer for three hours or until peas are softened and soup has thickened. If soup is too thin, uncover and simmer 30 minutes longer. SEason with salt and pepper to taste. Dicard bay leaf and ham bone.
Makes eight servings, about 1 1/4 cups each.
Yes you can toss the pork hock right into the soup and let it fall apart on it's own. It will give the soup a nice flavour too.
If you cook the soup in your slow cooker there is no need to pre-soak the peas. (BTW even if you cook them on the stove top you don't need to pre-soak them.) I usually cook my split pea soup in the slow cooker on high for 4.5 hours.
If you are looking for a recipe I usually use the one in Anne Lindsay's Lighthearted Everyday Cooking:
2 cups dried yellow soup peas or split peas
10 cups water
1 ham bone or 1/4 lb. ham, chopped
5 medium onions, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery (including leaves), chopped
1 tsp. summer savory
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
Rinse peas. In large soup pot, combine peas, water, ham bone or hame, onions, carrots, celery, summer sasvory and bay leaf; bring to boil. Skim off any scum. Cover and simmer for three hours or until peas are softened and soup has thickened. If soup is too thin, uncover and simmer 30 minutes longer. SEason with salt and pepper to taste. Dicard bay leaf and ham bone.
Makes eight servings, about 1 1/4 cups each.
2017 Jan 9
Wow was it really almost 10 years ago now that I originally posted my pea soup recipe!?!
Anyway, thank goodness I did because it makes it that much easier to look up my recipe :-)
I'm making it right now in the Instantpot - so posting a link to that thread
Forum - Instantpot - programmable pressure cooker
Missing from the original recipe are a few bay leaves.
Also used a lot less water in the Instantpot - about 10 cups
Used manual for 31 minutes - because prime numbers produce better results!
Anyway, thank goodness I did because it makes it that much easier to look up my recipe :-)
I'm making it right now in the Instantpot - so posting a link to that thread
Forum - Instantpot - programmable pressure cooker
Missing from the original recipe are a few bay leaves.
Also used a lot less water in the Instantpot - about 10 cups
Used manual for 31 minutes - because prime numbers produce better results!
Feb 8
I am making it again but in the 8 quart Instant Pot with 5 cups of peas and about 12 or 13 cups of broth
The broth is made from pork hocks - we had smoked hocks the other night for supper and I took all the bones and skin after cutting all the meat off, and processed those in the instant pot for about 45 minutes. I then loosely strained and used the broth.
5 cups peas
about 3 cups onions
about 3 cups carrots
3 bay leaves
1.5 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
about 3 cups of small cubed smoked pork
It is just coming up to pressure now so I'll let you know how it turns out.
The broth is made from pork hocks - we had smoked hocks the other night for supper and I took all the bones and skin after cutting all the meat off, and processed those in the instant pot for about 45 minutes. I then loosely strained and used the broth.
5 cups peas
about 3 cups onions
about 3 cups carrots
3 bay leaves
1.5 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
about 3 cups of small cubed smoked pork
It is just coming up to pressure now so I'll let you know how it turns out.
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.