Québec Pea Soup (Soupe aux pois)

Overview

Soupe aux pois is the thick yellow split pea soup of Québec and French Canada. Dried yellow peas are cooked slowly with salt pork or a ham bone, onion, carrot, celery and herbs until they break down into a creamy, golden soup. The pork gives it a smoky, salty depth, and it is served with bread. It is a classic winter dish, often made in big batches, and it is also associated with sugar shacks, where it is eaten in early spring during the maple syrup season.

Pictures

Québec Pea Soup: A bowl of Quebecois-style pea soup. The soup base is purred yellow split-peas and garden vegetables.
Photo: Cnrowley · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

Dried peas were an essential food for French settlers in New France because they kept well through the long winters and on long journeys. The soup became so linked with French Canadians that it shaped old nicknames for them. It remains a symbol of traditional Québécois cooking and is sold in tins across Canada. Many families still cook it with a ham bone saved from a holiday meal.

Main ingredients

Yellow split peas, salt pork or ham, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf. The soup is built on pork broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.

Recipe outline serves 4 · ~135 min

Ingredients

  • 450 g dried yellow split peas, soaked
  • 300 g salt pork or a ham bone
  • 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stick
  • 2 bay leaves, savory or thyme
  • 2.5 l water
  • salt and pepper

Allergens: Contains: Celery. Based on the typical recipe. Recipes and products vary; always check labels if you have an allergy.

Method

  1. Put peas, pork, vegetables and herbs in a pot with the water.
  2. Simmer gently for about 2 hours, stirring from time to time.
  3. Remove the pork, cut it up and return it.
  4. Season and serve with bread.

Sources

Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.

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