Recipe: French Canadian Pea Soup

French Canadian Pea Soup

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups whole yellow dry peas
2 medium carrots, finely chopped (about 1 cup chopped)
2 medium celery stalks, finely chopped (about 1 cup chopped)
1 medium leek, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cup chopped)
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cup chopped)
3 Tbsp butter
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth (or half of each)
1 small smoked pork hock or ham bone with meat on it (optional)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried savory
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Place whole peas in a large bowl, and cover them with water by 2 inches.

Cover and soak the peas overnight, or for 8 hours. Drain, rinse and then set aside.

In a large Dutch oven, over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the onions until translucent…about 4 minutes.

Then add the carrots, celery and leeks and cook, stirring occasionally until all the vegetables have softened…about 4 minutes.

Stir in the broth or water, pork hock, drained peas, thyme, savory and a dried bay leaf. Bring to boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and cover the pot.

Stir every 15 minutes until peas are tender, not mushy…about 2.5 hours. Add more liquid (water or broth) it soup is too thick.

If a ham hock was used, remove it and the meat around it, and add it to the soup.

Remove bay leaf.

Sprinkle with fresh parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve hot with French bread and butter.

SERVES 8

INDULGE!