Erwtensoep

Ingredients

• 500 g dried green split peas, rinsed
• 2.5 litres cold water
• 500 g pork ribs or a smoked pork hock
• 200 g pork belly, in one piece
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 leeks, halved lengthways and sliced
• 3 carrots, cut into 1 cm dice
• 250 g celeriac, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 2 celery sticks, sliced, leaves reserved
• 1 large floury potato, diced
• 250 g rookworst (Dutch smoked sausage)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• Black pepper
• Dark rye bread and butter, to serve

Before you cook

• Tip the split peas into a sieve, pick out any stones or discoloured peas and rinse them under cold water.
• Dice the onion, carrots, celeriac and potato and slice the leeks and celery.
• Chop the reserved celery leaves finely and set them aside for serving.

Steps

1. Put the split peas, cold water, pork ribs, pork belly and bay leaves into a large heavy pot.
2. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat.
3. Skim off the foam that gathers on the surface.
4. Lower the heat, half-cover the pot and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes so the peas do not catch on the base.
5. Add the onion, leeks, carrots, celeriac, celery and potato.
6. Simmer for a further 45 minutes until the peas have broken down completely and the vegetables are soft.
7. Lift out the pork ribs and belly and let them cool on a board for 10 minutes.
8. Pull the meat off the bones, chop it into small pieces and discard the bones and any hard fat.
9. Beat the soup hard with a wooden spoon for a minute so it turns thick and homogeneous.
10. Return the chopped meat to the pot and season with the salt and plenty of black pepper.
11. Slice the rookworst into 1 cm rounds and lay them on the surface of the soup.
12. Cover the pot and heat gently for 10 minutes so the sausage warms through without splitting.
13. Let the soup stand off the heat for 20 minutes, or refrigerate it overnight and reheat it the next day for a better result.
14. Ladle into deep bowls, scatter over the celery leaves and serve with buttered rye bread.