Split Pea Soup with Smoked Pork Belly

Split pea soup with smoked pork belly is a rich, thick soup made with water, where the peas cook down almost into a puree while a sauté of onion, carrot and smoked meat gives it a bold aroma. It's worth soaking the peas in boiling water beforehand so they cook noticeably faster. I recommend serving it with herbs and croutons - buon appetito!

Split Pea Soup with Smoked Pork Belly

Rich split pea soup with a sauté of onion, carrot and smoked pork belly, finished with herbs and croutons.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Soaking the peas 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 2 l water
• 300 g split peas
• 1 carrot large
• 1 onion
• 200 g smoked pork belly
• salt
• nutmeg
• vegetable oil
• herbs for serving
• croutons for serving

Method

 

1. 2-3 hours before cooking, sort through the peas, rinse well under running water, pour boiling water over them and let stand covered.
2. Drain the peas and add them to a pot with 2 liters of boiling water. Do not salt the water.
3. Simmer for about an hour over low heat, skimming off the white foam.
4. Peel the vegetables, grate the carrot, chop the onion and pork belly. Sauté the onion with carrot in a pan until golden, add the pork belly and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
5. Transfer the sauté into the soup and cook until the peas are fully tender. At the very end, add salt and seasoning to taste.
6. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with herbs and croutons.
   

Tips

• Use split peas - they cook faster than whole peas.
• Don't salt the water while cooking the peas: add salt only at the very end.
• Be sure to skim off the white foam at the start of cooking.
• Total time depends on the peas: the soup simmers for about 1.5-2 hours.