A Split-Pea Soup to End All Split-Pea Soups

One of my New Year's projects was to (is still to) get rid of old stuff. I had a whole stack of old foodie magazines hogging precious cookbook shelf space, and decided once and for all to peruse them for the good recipes to cut out and save, and chuck the rest. My eyes fell (and feasted) on an otherwise inconspicuous recipe for split-pea soup. Split-peas in any form aren't something I grew up with, in fact I can't recall my mom ever making them. Scandinavia on the other hand, has a thing for split-pea soup. Yellow split-pea soup. They call it simply, pea soup (ærtesuppe). I first got real close and personal with it in Finland, when I lived there for that dark, cold semester. Hernekeitto is the national dish every Thursday. Thursday is simply pea soup day, and every Finnish restaurant and cafeteria with any self-respect serves just that on that day. I admit, I liked it, but it's also a notorious dish that people love to hate, indluding my mother-in-law! And I can understand why. The soup is normally heavy on the peas, making it really thick, almost pasty, and this is especially how it turns when people by the packages of "just add water" pea soup. Paste is not, and will never be soup, so folks who like that kind of thing can keep it for themselves. Yuck!

But this recipe will change that. I'm convinced that this soup can make a split-pea soup lover out of anyone. I think the winning aspects of this soup are the "hiddenness" of the peas, and the mighty fine chunks of yummy veg (and bacon, if you add that). I tried it on my husband and kids yesterday. Kids ate everything (under pressure, admittedly), husband loved it. Will serve it to my MIL and get back to you on that one :)

Ingredients:

250 g. split-peas, preferably yellow
2 bay leaves
3 carrots, in small cubes
2 parsnip, or parsley root, in small cubes
3 large potatoes, in small cubes
3 medium onions, diced or sliced as you like
3 sprigs of thyme, or 2 tsp dried
apple cider vinegar to taste
salt and pepper ditto

First off, boil your peas and bay leaves in ample water to cover them, roughly 45 min. Drain afterward, discard the bay leaves, and set aside for the time being.
Now, sauter you onions in some butter and oil, when they're soft, add all your cubed veggies, and 1 liter of water on top of that. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. When you've done that, drain the veggie water on top of you peas, and blitz away until it's all smooth and soupy, mine was pretty watery too, which is fine, because you won't get that characteristic pea-pastyness. Add your veggies to your peas, and put your thyme in as well. Let bubble for a bit, and when you're about ready to eat, season with apple cider vinegar, and salt and pepper. Note that you might need quite a bit of salt, I did in any case.

Notes: this recipe serves 4.
Also, I added about 4-5 slices of thick, diced bacon. I sautered it with the onions, until the onions were soft, and the bacon was glistening. So, leave out the bacon, you have a very tasty vegan dinner.
The original recipe called for a fennel bulb, diced, which I didn't have, so had to make do without. I can only imagine it will be tastier with, if you're into that sort of thing.

Enjoy with fresh bread like we did!

Colorful and Spicy Potato Salad

When an ex-boyfriend and I split, the thing I missed the most was this Indian vegetarian cookbook. I later brought it back into my life via Amazon, and to be honest, I've only ever made this lovely potato salad from it.

I don't make it slavishly anymore, following instruction to the t, but the idea is the same, and creamy potato salad with a spicy punch, and loads of color from the additions of pomegranate seeds and coriander. I adore fresh coriander!



The gist is simple, precook and quarter medium potatoes. Let cool.
Mix some low fat yoghurt with a bit of mayonnaise.
I then personally seasoned it with salt, pepper, a dash of garlic powder and piri piri.
I also added finely chopped red onion, but really, I think this can do without.
Give it all a good mix, and top with the pomegranate seeds and fresh, chopped coriander.

So simple, but it looks so daring on the table.
Delicious.

Creamy Vegan Potatoes

Dude! It's been a while, huh? Well, between testing this vegan thing and my studies and my trip to Berlin, and now my mother being here for a visit...you get the idea. My camera is out of commission, for ever, so until we acquire a new one, I'll make do with old snaps of dishes I just haven't blogged about, and then second hand tales of decadent vegan meals, or something.

I made, actually invented, this warm potato salad as a side to an Indian dish I made recently, and it was good! And easy! And vegan!



I simply boiled some cute small potatoes, with skin, rubbing them gently off after they'd cooled a bit.
Then, I fried a small amount of finely chopped onion with light and dark mustard seeds and nigella seeds. When they'd released some of their flavor, I added the cooked and peeled potatoes again for a quick swirl, before turning the heat off. Then, as the creamy dot over the "i", I added a few bid spoonfuls of the white coconut cream that rises to the top of the canned coconut milk*. It was the perfect touch. And the dish was eaten with great fervor by all, young and older.

* Coconut milk has been a lifesaver in this vegan adventure of mine. Can't imagine not having its creamy goodness on hand.

A Word on Mashed Potatoes

It would hardly be a proper post around here if I didn't mention we get a CSA box from Aarstiderne. We do. And along with all those dang carrots, we get potatoes every week too. Which is great, because we get to eat French fries and mashed potatoes alot, which are always a hit with the young, hip crowd that live here.

Now, have you ever had the feeling that the mashed potatoes you make could double as an adherent for wallpaper? I'm not sure the exact chemical processes that make this so, but I suspect is has to do with how you beat the potatoes, and also how much they are boiled. But here, I have a few tips for bringing the perfect mashed potato to your table.

1) This is a Heston Blumenthal tip, not exactly energy efficient, but it really gives you a perfect mashed potato. Heat potatoes up in a large pot of water. When the water starts to steam, though just before bubbling, drain the water from the potatoes. Yes, drain the water and throw it away. Most of the starches will have left your spuds by now, so add fresh water to the pot and potatoes, a sprinkling of salt, and carry on as you always have.

2) Instead of a whole serving of mashed potato, use half potatoes, and other tubers for the rest. I like using celeriac, parsnip, carrots, jerusalem artichoke, root parsley et. al. They add a different flavor, different nutrients and aren't starchy like potatoes can be.

3) I hand beat mine, with an egg beater, or even a fork sometimes. It gives a nice rustic feel to it, and doesn't beat the starches out of the potatoes and into the dish.

Anyone else have tips?