This is one of my fave All-Canadian dishes! Traditional French Canadian Split Pea soup. It’s full of good things – and comes in two colours: Green or Yellow! And it’s a breeze to make. In fact the hardest thing about it is waiting…
So I hear you mumbling… “What’s the difference between regular split pea soup and the ‘entrée’ version? Good question. And one I’m often asked. The difference is simple. the latter contains more veggies than just onions, and they’re left chunky and full of umami flavour…
A true classic
Not only is French Canadian Split Pea Soup a legendary classic. It’s also a headliner in the province’s culinary heritage – along with Poutine, Montreal Smoked Meat and Montreal bagels…
And it’s always made the same way, regardless of what additions you make or which colour of peas you choose.
About the peas…
Some folks will tell you the two taste different from one another. Not so. At least, not after you get some salt and pepper, aromatic veggies, herbs and stock in the pot.
Whether yellow or green, they’re both dried peas, which came out of pods, on closely related plants.
About the ham bone
The best way to get your ham bone is to bake a holiday ham and leave a good amount of meat o0n the bone. But you can use a ‘ham steak’ cubed and tossed into the pot. The end product will taste the same.
It used to be that you could get ‘soup bones’ from the butcher shop – even the meat department at the supermarket not all that long ago. But no more. The most recent story I heard, via an old-time cook’s Reddit post, revealed that the state of modern meat retailing is totally out of touch with humanity…
The guy asked his go-to meat cutter for soup bones and the guy said, “I can’t sell you soup bones. Health department rules.”
The cook says, “They’re right back there on the counter!”
“Nope. Those are dog bones.”
“Same thing!” the cook protests.
“Look,” says the butcher. I can’t sell you soup bones, but I CAN sell you dog bones…”
“I don’t have a dog!” says the cook.
“Okay… Let’s just say you promised to get one on the way home…”
About the veggies…
I particularly love this recipe because it enriches the soup base with all three classic aromatic veggies: carrots, celery and onion. Most split pea soup recipes usually call only for onions, for their flavour. But this one stipulates carrots and celery, too, which contributes to its ultimate identity as an entrée, as well.
Which brings me to the potato. It’s a little unusual – even in the more complex split pea soup recipes I’ve encountered. But it’s a good idea. The spuds bulk out the soup into a stew, and soak up the base flavours of the broth, herbs and the other veggies while simmering. In this recipe, you’re getting everything that’s good about potatoes and none of the bad stuff that makes fries, scallops and loaded baked potatoes dietarily evil.
About the video…
This recipe includes a video covering all the essentials of putting the soup together. It’s particularly good in that it shows exactly how big to dice the veggies and slice the onions. One caveat: the video shows adding a lot of salt and pepper. Add what you consider a sensible amount to start, and adjust at the end of cooking if necessary.
My take
With all those veggies and a good big handful of ham cubes or shreds, this soup is really more like a stew – a meal in itself with some crusty bread on the side to sop and mop up the creamy soup base. Because you won’t want to miss a single drop!
~ Maggie J.