Erbsensuppe (German split pea soup with smoked pork)
Thick, smoky and deeply savoury: split peas simmered with root vegetables and smoked pork until they fall apart into a velvety soup, with marjoram, a little mustard and sliced sausages stirred in at the end. The soup of German field kitchens and Saturday lunches.
- Time
- 120 min (20 prep + 100 cook)
- Servings
- 4
- Per serving
- 604 kcal
- Protein
- 45 g
Ingredients
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 1–2 medium onion, diced
- 3 medium carrots, diced
- 1 medium leek, white and pale green, sliced
- 1 small piece celeriac, peeled, diced
- 1 1/2 cups split peas, green Schälerbsen, rinsed (no soaking needed)
- 9 oz smoked pork loin (Kasseler), in one piece canadian bacon
- 6 1/4 cups water
- 2 leaves bay leaf
- 2 medium gold potatoes, peeled, diced
- 2 tsp dried marjoram
- 5 1/2 oz (3 sausages) lean wiener sausage, lean Wiener or poultry frankfurters (Geflügelwiener), sliced
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard, or medium-hot German mustard
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 small handful fresh parsley, chopped
Steps
- Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat and cook the onion, carrot, leek and celeriac for 5 minutes, stirring, until they begin to soften.
- Add the split peas, the piece of Kasseler, the water and the bay leaves. Bring to the boil, skim off any foam, then lower the heat, cover with the lid slightly ajar and simmer gently for about 60 minutes, stirring now and then so the peas do not catch. Do not salt it yet; the smoked pork seasons the soup.
- Add the potatoes and marjoram and simmer for another 30 minutes, until the potatoes and peas are completely soft and the soup has thickened. Add a little more water if it gets too thick.
- Lift out the Kasseler and the bay leaves. Dice the pork, then mash the soup lightly with a potato masher if you want it smoother. Return the pork, add the sliced sausages and warm through for 5 minutes without boiling. Stir in the mustard, pepper and parsley and taste for salt. It keeps 4 days in the fridge and thickens as it stands, so loosen it with a little water when you reheat it. It freezes for 3 months.
Good to know
Whole dried peas or split peas?
Split peas (Schälerbsen) need no soaking and are soft within about 90 minutes. Whole dried peas are also traditional but need soaking overnight and roughly double the cooking time.
Can I use bacon?
Yes, smoked streaky bacon is the classic alternative and makes the soup richer and smokier. Use the same weight, dice it afterwards, and it comes out at about 57 instead of 70.
Alternatives
Per
- Calories
- 85
- Protein
- (31%)
- 6 g
- Fat
- (19%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (50%)
- 12 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 149 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 2418 kcal goes into the pot and 3244 g of ingredients comes out as about 2845 g of food: 85 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.