Horokhova Yushka (горохова юшка, pea soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A big modern stockpot, at least 5 litres
• •A wide pan for the zasmazhka
• •A sturdy wooden spoon for scraping the bottom

Instructions

1. 1

   Rinse the peas

   Rinse the split peas in several changes of cold water until the cloudiness eases. Pick out any hard dark bits. You don't need to soak split peas overnight, but if yours are old and stubborn, give them an hour in warm water while you get on with life.

   Old peas cook slowly and then suddenly surrender. Don't panic if they seem rude for the first hour.
2. 2

   Start the pot

   Put the peas, water or light broth, bay leaves, and the smoked rib or ham bone if using into a big pot. Bring it slowly to a simmer and skim the foam as it rises. Keep the heat gentle. A hard boil makes peas spit at you and catch on the bottom, and nobody needs that comedy.

3. 3

   Render the salo

   Set the diced smoked salo in a wide pan over low heat and let the fat melt out slowly. The pieces should shrink and turn golden at the edges, not burn. When the kitchen smells smoky and sweet, lift a few crisp pieces out for finishing and leave the fat in the pan.

4. 4

   Build the zasmazhka

   Add the onion to the salo fat with a pinch of salt and cook until soft and translucent. Add the grated carrot and sunflower oil if the pan looks dry, then sweat everything slowly until the carrot relaxes, the fat turns orange, and the smell changes from raw onion to something round and sweet. Stir in the paprika for the last minute, just long enough to wake it.

   The zasmazhka goes in near the end. Slow-sweated onion and carrot sit brightly on top of the broth; cooked from the start, they disappear into it.
5. 5

   Cook until velvet

   When the peas are mostly soft and starting to break at the edges, add the diced potatoes. Keep simmering, stirring along the bottom now and then, until the peas collapse and the soup turns thick, yellow, and just barely pourable. Listen for it: the sound changes from watery bubbling to slow heavy plops. That is the pot telling you it is close.

6. 6

   Finish the soup

   Remove the bone if you used one, pulling off any meat and returning it to the pot. Stir in the zasmazhka, crushed garlic, black pepper, and most of the dill. Salt carefully at the end because smoked salo brings its own salt. If the soup stands too stiff, loosen it with hot water; if it runs like broth, simmer it a little longer. The spoon should not fall over immediately.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Let the soup sit off the heat for at least fifteen minutes so the peas settle and the smoked fat comes into soft golden beads on top. Serve in deep bowls with the saved crisp salo, more dill, a spoon of smetana if you like, and rye bread or pampushky for dragging through the last of it.

Chef Tips

• •Smoked salo gives the southern everyday version its backbone. Smoked pork belly is easier to find and works well; for a meatless pot, use 300g browned mushrooms and an extra spoon of unrefined sunflower oil.
• •Salt late. Between smoked meat and thickening peas, the pot changes as it cooks, and early salt can turn bossy by the end.
• •If the soup thickens overnight into something you could tile a roof with, don't be dramatic. Add hot water, stir gently, and it comes back.
• •Dill belongs here. Parsley does not do the same work; it sits there politely while dill makes the soup smell alive.
• •The peas and the gentle simmer won't forgive rushing. The potatoes, garnish, and thickness will forgive you completely.

Advance Preparation

• •The soup is better the next day, once the smoked salo and peas have settled into each other. Chill it, then reheat gently with a splash of water.
• •If your split peas are old, soak them in warm water for 1 to 2 hours before cooking. It is not required, just kind to tired peas.
• •Crisp the salo pieces ahead and keep them separate so they stay chewy-crisp for serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 430g)