Hernekeitto (Finnish pea soup)

Name: Hernekeitto (Finnish pea soup)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 130 min
Total time: 145 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups split peas, whole dried green peas, or split peas; 6 cups water; 1 large onion, chopped; 3 medium carrots, in small cubes; 1 small parsnip, parsnip or root parsley, in small cubes; 1 1/2 tsp dried marjoram; 9 oz kassler (smoked pork loin), lean smoked pork or smoked ham (palvikinkku), in small cubes; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp French mustard, mustard, to stir in at the table

Thursday's soup in Finland, in school canteens and the army as much as at home: dried green peas simmered for hours until thick and soft, with smoked pork, onion, carrot and a little marjoram, and a good spoon of mustard stirred in at the table. Lean smoked pork brings the smoke with less fat.

Time: 145 min (15 prep + 130 cook)
Servings: 4
Per serving: 353 kcal
Protein: 31 g

Servings4

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups split peas, whole dried green peas, or split peas
6 cups water
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, in small cubes
1 small parsnip, parsnip or root parsley, in small cubes
1 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
9 oz kassler (smoked pork loin), lean smoked pork or smoked ham (palvikinkku), in small cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

To serve

2 tbsp French mustard, to stir in at the table

Steps

Whole dried peas: rinse them, soak overnight in the measured water, in the fridge, and cook them in it. Split peas only need a rinse.
Put the peas and water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam and any loose skins that float up, then simmer gently, partly covered, for 1 hour.
Add the onion, carrot, parsnip and marjoram and simmer for another 30 minutes.
Add the smoked pork and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring now and then so nothing catches on the bottom, until the peas are completely soft and the pork is hot through (165°F). If whole peas are still firm, give them another 30 minutes. Add a little water if the soup gets too thick.
Taste before you salt, since the pork brings plenty, then season with salt and pepper.
Serve in deep bowls with mustard to stir in at the table and, if you like, a little chopped raw onion. Keeps 4 days in the fridge and thickens as it stands, so loosen it with water when you reheat it. Freezes 3 months.

Good to know

What comes after it?

In Finland, oven pancake (pannukakku) with jam, every Thursday. It is the other half of the tradition.

Can I use pork shoulder and a smoked hock?

Yes, that is the classic big-pot version. Simmer the meats whole with the peas from the start, then lift them out, shred the meat and return it. The soup is richer: with about 375 g of meat in all, a score of about 76 instead of 81.

Alternative

78the Swedish pea soupÄrtsoppa (Swedish yellow pea soup)

Per

Calories: 70
Protein: (38%); 6 g
Fat: (8%); 1 g
Carbohydrates: (54%); 11 g
of which sugar: 2 g
Fiber: 4 g
Sodium: 282 mg

More meals

Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How

As written, 1410 kcal goes into the pot and 2355 g of ingredients comes out as about 2005 g of food: 70 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.

Hernekeitto (Finnish pea soup)