German Pea Soup
This is a lighter version of a German-style pea-and-ham soup that I tried in Frankfurt. I have done away with the ham hock, instead substituting some crunchy bacon and using a combination of dried and fresh peas in the soup. This cuts down on the cooking time as well. A small note of decadence is the slices of sautéed bratwurst nestled on top.
For a different note to this soup, and taking the flavour over the border into France, you could add an uncrushed clove of garlic and a few thyme leaves as it cooks. A dollop of crème fraiche on the top instead of the bacon and bratwurst will complete it.
Tip: You could make this soup truly Australian by forgetting about the bacon and bratwurst and adding a meat pie to it. Yes, a pie floater! If you are on a diet, make the pie a party pie.
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion or 2 golden shallots, finely diced
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- 100gms dried green peas
- 1 cup good quality stock (chicken or vegetable)
- 100gms frozen green peas or 1 small tin peas, drained
- 1 bacon rasher, chopped
- 1 bratwurst, sliced (optional)
Soak the dried green peas in water overnight. At the end of the soaking time, drain the peas and discard the soaking liquid.
When you are ready to cook the soup, melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan. Sauté the shallot or onion until it is soft but not browned. Add the soaked peas, stock, salt and pepper to the pan. Ideally the peas should be just covered with the stock. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and continue to cook for about 30 minutes.
Add the fresh peas to the pan and continue to cook for five minutes or so. While the soup is cooking, fry the bacon pieces in a small frypan. When the bacon is golden and crisp, drain it on some paper towel and place to one side. Drain away any fat in the frypan and cook the bratwurst slices in the frypan over a medium heat for a couple of minutes, turning the bratwurst slices over once during the cooking process. Drain the bratwurst on some paper towel.
To serve, purée the soup using a stick blender, food processor or simply smoosh the soup through a sieve. The sieve option will make the soup a little more rustic in texture but it still tastes great. Ladle the soup into individual soup bowls and top with a little of the bacon and bratwurst slices.
Recipe from Caravan World Issue 477