Danish Pea Soup with Pork
Submitted by RJAndrews
Traditional Danish yellow split pea soup with smoked pork, sausage links, leeks, and celery root. Hearty Scandinavian comfort served with dark bread, mustard, and beer.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
130 minREADY
150 minIn Denmark, this is called Gule Ærter, and it’s the kind of thick, warming soup that gets people through long Nordic winters. Yellow split peas simmer until they collapse into a velvety base while smoked pork cooks low and slow in a separate pot.
Root vegetables, leeks, and thyme build layers of earthy flavor in the broth. Everything comes together in wide soup bowls with the sliced pork and sausage links served on a platter alongside.
This is a meal, not a starter. Serve it the traditional way with dark bread, sharp mustard, and a cold beer. It’s rustic, filling, and deeply satisfying on a cold night.
Kitchen Tips
- Yellow split peas work best here. Green split peas will work but give a different color and slightly different flavor.
- Celery root (celeriac) adds an earthy depth you won’t get from regular celery stalks. Peel it well before cutting.
- Cook the peas and the pork in separate pots. This keeps the pea soup smooth and the pork broth clear for thinning.
- The soup thickens as it sits. Add reserved broth when reheating leftovers to bring it back to the right consistency.
Ingredients
Directions
Cook and drain sausage links large kettle with 6 cups water.
Cook slowly, covered, 1½ hours, until tender.
Put bacon, carrots, celery root, leeks, onions, thyme, salt, and pepper in another kettle.
Cover with water.
Cook slowly, covered, 40 minutes until vegetables and bacon are tender.
Take out bacon; slice and keep warm.
Remove vegetables and add to cooked split peas with as much as the broth in which the vegetables were cooked as desired to thin the soup.
Reheat, if necessary.
Ladle soup, including vegetables, into wide soup plates and serve sliced bacon and the cooked sausage links separately on a platter.
Serve with dark bread, mustard, and beer.
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