Super Tasty Dutch Winter Split Pea Soup: Erwtensoep

Dutch Winter Pea Soup, Erwtensoep

Winter will never be complete without enjoying a piping hot bowl of winter soup!

Split pea soup, also known as 'erwtensoep' is the perennial Dutch national favourite. The main star of this healthy winter warmer is actually split pea or lentils cooked with other winter vegetables. The typical Dutch version of erwtensoep is served with smoked sausage 'rookworst'. The erwtensoep has the similar texture as the Indian dhal but with a slightly thicker consistency.

Erwtensoep is hearty and rich in flavors from the combination of over 10 types of ingredients. Thanks to Albert Heijn's ready-to-cook erwtensoep ingredient pack, the painstaking process of collecting the ingredients can be skipped.

The ingredients pack comes with a stalk of leek, a carrot, an onion, 3 bay leaves, 1/4 of celeriac, a few stem of celery leave and 500g of split pea. So, I just need to top-up with some potatoes and a smoked sausage to complete the dish.

Cooking erwtensoep is a breeze and just about dropping all the ingredients in a pot of hot water with salt and pepper as seasoning. Remember to stir the soup every 15 minutes and cook in medium heat for about 1.5 hours. It is a very simple dish to prepare with majority of the time spent prepping the vegetables and dicing the potatoes and celeriac. Of course, you may even leave this step to your trusted food processor should you have one in your kitchen.

Erwtensoep is best served with rye bread and bacon. Since I have neither rye bread or bacon on hand, I had my erwtensoep with Wasa crispbread instead. It tasted equally good with the contrasting texture.

I really enjoyed the piping hot bowl of homemade erwtensoep in front of my living room window, while gazing at the dancing snow flakes on a sub-zero Saturday afternoon. This is without doubt, the perfect winter afternoon snack!

A spoonful of Erwtensoep

Erwtensoep ingredient pack from Albert Heijn