Old Fashioned Swedish Yellow Pea Soup (Gul Ärtsoppa)

Yellow pea soup is a firm favourite in Scandinavia and especially in the winter months.

There are still people in Sweden and Norway who eat yellow pea soup every single Thursday. It's a hark back to hundreds of years ago when people would fill up on a nutritious pea soup on Thursday to before the start of the traditional Christian fast on Fridays. It's still served in the Swedish army and navy every Thursday. In Sweden it's still Pea Soup Thursday if you are serving your national service. In Norway it's not quite so much but pea soup still remains incredibly popular especially in the winter.

As if the nourishing tummy filing pea soup wasn't enough, in Sweden it's also served with pancakes and a special Swedish drink called punsch. Punsch is most reminiscent of rum flavoured with lemon and spices such as nutmeg. You are not going to be leaving the table hungry!!

Yellow pea soup might look very familiar to you. It's a dish that is present is so many cuisines especially in Europe. In France it's called potage St Germain, in England it's pease pottage, and there is nothing fancy or lavish about yellow pea soup, but it offers comfort and a hug in a bowl that other soups just can't seem to match. Maybe it's the creaminess of the split yellow peas, or the slightly fatty saltiness of the bacon. But whatever it is we love it and I can't see this dish going anywhere anytime soon!

Gul erter or dried yellow peas are a common ingredient in Scandinavian cooking

I thought it was useful to share a little bit about gul erter or yellow peas because they might not be something that you are totally familiar with if you do not live in the Nordics. They are a small, hard dried pea that from the outside looks grey in colour, but the inside is a pretty pale-yellow colour. If you can't get them you can substitute split peas, which are a little larger and tend to be in two halves.

Note: For the vegetarians out there, you can omit the bacon and make this a vegan version.

Old Fashioned Swedish Yellow Pea Soup (Gul Ärtsoppa).

Serves 4 hungry Scandinavians

Ingredients

300g / 10.5 oz dried yellow peas. You can also use yellow split peas

1 tablespoon oil such as olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped

400g / 14 oz bacon, diced into small pieces

1.5 litre / 3 pints vegetable stock

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves

Method

Soak the peas in a bowl overnight in lots of clean fresh water.

The next day rinse the peas and drain them.

In a large pan heat the oil and fry the bacon until it begins to cook. Add the onion and carrot and fry until soft and translucent. Try not to brown it.

Add the drained peas and 1.5 litres / 3 pints of vegetable stock. Stir in the chopped oregano and thyme. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 2 hours or until the peas are soft and beginning to break up.

Serve hot with some fresh bread. For a really Swedish take on it serve with pancakes and a shot of punsch or a glass of beer.