Sweden is a country with lots of food traditions. There are holidays for all sorts of foods:
- Fat Tuesday (the day before Lent begins) is celebrated by eating “semlor”, a dense pastry with almond paste and loads of whipped cream.
- March 25th – “våffeldagen” or Waffle Day.
- August 8th – crayfish is served on the “kräftpremiär”.
- “Surströmmingspremiär” is later in August. Fermented herring is a very “special” dish – open the can outdoors while holding your breath, then cover the fish up with bread, potatoes and sour cream. 😄
- December 13th is the day to eat “lussekatter”, or delicious saffron buns to recognize Saint Lucia, the bringer of light, in a terribly dark time of year.
That’s just a very few of the food holidays. Then, there is the traditional weekday menu, which many families, schools, and businesses continue to follow:
- Monday — pytt i panna (a type of hash that uses up leftovers from the weekend), meatballs or sausage
- Tuesday — fried pork with brown beans
- Wednesday — fish
- Thursday — pea soup with pancakes (similar to crepes)
- Friday — chicken
- Saturday — a nicer piece of meat, with all the side dishes
- Sunday — steak of some sort (moose, reindeer, etc.)
And so, I look forward to purchasing bone-in hams as often as possible. Cooking down the bone to make broth is the perfect base for bean & ham soup, or this simple and satisfying pea soup.
Served with a nice dollop of brown mustard, pea soup with ham makes Thursday supper — or any other day of the week — into a comforting feast.
Klassisk Ärtsoppa – Classic Pea Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Comforting soup filled with flavor and memories.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups (1 pound) split peas
- 4 cups water
- 8 cups ham broth with meat
- 2 large white onions, diced
- 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 carrots, diced
- 6 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
- 2 Tbsp oil or bacon grease
- 1 tsp marjoram
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Pour 4 cups boiling water over the peas, and allow to soak for an hour.
- Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, brown bacon until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to paper-lined plate to drain. Discard all but 2 Tbsp fat.
- Over medium heat, sauté onions until tender in bacon fat, about 10 minutes. Then add garlic and carrots, the marjoram, thyme, and black pepper, and cook another 5 minutes.
- Drain and rinse the peas, and add half of them to the stock pot.
- Add the ham broth, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Using a stick blender, process the soup until semi-smooth.
- Add the rest of the peas and simmer another 15-20 minutes uncovered.
- Add ham and bacon and heat through. Season with salt, if desired.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
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