Hessischer Erbseneintopf

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, 5 to 6 litres
• •Colander for soaking and draining peas
• •Ladle and wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the peas

   Rinse the dried peas, pick out any small stones, and cover them with plenty of cold water overnight, 10 to 12 hours. Whole peas need that time because the skin and the center hydrate slowly; skip the soak and the outside splits before the middle softens. Drain them before cooking so the pot starts clean, not dusty.

   Use whole dried green peas for the old thick pot. Split peas cook faster and will work, but they give a softer, smoother soup with less bite.
2. 2

   Sweat the roots

   Warm the oil or lard in a heavy pot and cook the onion, carrots, celeriac, and leek for 8 to 10 minutes until the onion turns glossy and sweet. Do not brown them hard; this stew wants a clean pea taste, and burnt onion makes bitterness that no sausage can hide.

3. 3

   Simmer peas and bacon

   Add the drained peas, the bacon piece with its rind, the bay leaves, marjoram, and 2 litres cold water. Bring it just to a boil, skim the grey foam, then lower it to a quiet simmer for about 60 to 75 minutes, until the peas are tender but not collapsed. Runter mit der Temperatur. A hard boil smashes the peas at the edge while the pot still tastes thin.

4. 4

   Add the potatoes

   Stir in the diced floury potatoes once the peas have softened. Cook another 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes break at the edges and thicken the broth naturally. Add them too early and they disappear into glue before the peas are done; add them now and they give body without stealing the whole pot.

5. 5

   Finish the meat

   Lift out the bacon, cut away the rind if it is too tough to eat, and dice the meat. Return the bacon to the pot. Warm Frankfurter Würstchen gently in the stew for 5 minutes, or stir in sliced Ahle Wurscht only long enough to warm through. Boiling a Frankfurter bursts it, and boiling Ahle Wurscht wastes the cure into the broth. Weggeworfen wird nichts, but don't punish the sausage.

6. 6

   Season at end

   Taste the stew, then season with salt, black pepper, and a spoon of vinegar or sharp mustard. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss: the bacon and sausage bring salt as they cook, and acid goes in only after the peas are soft because it firms their skins. Finish with parsley and let the pot stand 10 minutes before serving, so the starch settles and the spoon stands almost upright.

Chef Tips

• •Soak the peas overnight. This is not decoration on the method; it is the method. Old whole peas that haven't soaked can sit in the pot for hours and still keep a hard center.
• •Keep the bacon in one piece for the long simmer. It gives the broth smoke and body without turning into dry little cubes, then you cut it once it has done its work.
• •Do not add vinegar, mustard, or tomatoes early. Acid belongs at the finish because it brightens the heavy pot after the peas are tender; early acid keeps legume skins firm.
• •For a Frankfurt bowl, use Frankfurter Würstchen and warm them gently. For North Hesse, use Ahle Wurscht sparingly, because it is cured and strong. The sausage is a mark of place, not a contest.
• •This stew thickens overnight. Reheat it with a splash of water or stock and stir from the bottom, because pea starch catches if you rush it.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the peas the night before, 10 to 12 hours, and keep them covered with cold water because exposed peas dry at the surface and cook unevenly.
• •The finished stew keeps 3 days in the refrigerator and is better on the second day. Thin it with water or light stock as it reheats, then season again at the end.
• •Freeze without the Frankfurter Würstchen if you plan ahead. The pea stew freezes well, but the sausage turns woolly after freezing and reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 665g)