London Particular (London particular)
Overview
London particular is a thick English soup of dried green split peas cooked with a ham hock. Smoked bacon is fried in butter with a sliced onion, the split peas are stirred in to coat them in the fat, and a ham hock, knuckle or a couple of pig's trotters is buried in the pot and covered with water. It simmers gently for about two hours, stirred often, until the peas collapse into a mush. The joint is lifted out, the soup is blended or passed through a mill, and the meat is picked from the bone and returned. It is seasoned with pepper, salt only if needed and a good splash of Worcestershire sauce, and served with bread.
History
In the nineteenth century the smoke of countless coal fires mixed with river mist to make London's thick yellow-green fogs, which Londoners called pea-soupers after the colour of pea soup. In Charles Dickens's Bleak House of 1853, a young clerk explains the fog to a visitor with the words 'This is a London particular', and the name passed from the fog back to the soup. The phrase itself was older and had long been used for things particular to London, such as a kind of Madeira wine.
Main ingredients
Dried split peas, ham hock, smoked bacon, onion, butter, worcestershire sauce. The soup is built on thick green split pea purée and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Pork soups · More soups from United Kingdom
Recipe
Method
- 15 min
Fry the bacon in the butter for 5 minutes, then add the onion and soften it.
- 2
Stir in the split peas, add the ham hock and cover with the water.
- 32 h
Bring to the boil, skim, then simmer gently for 1½ to 2 hours, stirring often.
- 4
Take out the hock and blend the soup until smooth.
- 5
Return the shredded meat, season with Worcestershire sauce and pepper and serve.
- ✓
Serve. About 2h 10m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
