Graue Erbsen mit Speck

Graue Erbsen mit Speck belong to the north, strongest in Schleswig-Holstein and Ostfriesland, and they belong to Fastnacht, the last full table before Lent begins. This is not a pretty little vegetable side. It is dried field peas from the winter larder, smoked bacon from the curing hook, onion, vinegar, and patience. Das braucht seine Zeit.

The regions split over the finish. In Schleswig-Holstein the peas are often served with a sweet-sour Specksoße, bacon sauce, sometimes with a spoon of sugar and vinegar pulled sharp. In Ostfriesland the pot may stay plainer and saltier, with the bacon doing more of the talking. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders, and the south is not really in this argument.

The technique is the soak and the simmer. Grey field peas have thick skins, so if you boil them hard from dry, the outside bursts while the inside stays chalky. Soak them overnight, bring them up gently, and keep the water barely moving until the pea gives between finger and thumb. Vinegar waits until the end because acid tightens the skins. Put it in early and you've made work for your teeth.

I serve them with smoked streaky bacon, browned onion, and enough vinegar to wake the whole bowl. Weggeworfen wird nichts: the bacon fat is the sauce, the cooking liquor loosens the peas, and the rind, if you have it, goes into the pot for flavour.