Snert — Split Peas with Salt Pork
A soup-puree so dense that the spoon stands upright—that is the sign it is done right. Split peas melted down, salted pork and meat desalted in rainwater, leek and root vegetables: a winter and sea dish that sticks to the ribs for hours.
A soup-puree so dense that the spoon stands upright—that is the sign it is done right. Split peas melted down, salted pork and meat desalted in rainwater, leek and root vegetables: a winter and sea dish that sticks to the ribs for hours.
My lads, when the southern wind freezes your fingers on the halyards, nothing beats the pea cauldron. Let them burst slowly in the water until they are nothing but a thick mush—if your spoon stands straight in it, it is cooked to perfection. Throw in the pork you desalted yesterday, a leek, and a grating of my nutmeg to gladden the belly. Eat it piping hot, and it is even better the next day.
- •Dried split peas — a large bowl per man (base)
- •Salt pork and salted pork meat — according to ration (fat and umami)
- •Leek and onion — whatever the landfall provided (aromatics)
- •Celeriac — one root (flavor)
- •Nutmeg — a grating (signature)
Snert — Split Peas with Salt Pork
A soup-puree so dense that the spoon stands upright—that is the sign it is done right. Split peas melted down, salted pork and meat desalted in rainwater, leek and root vegetables: a winter and sea dish that sticks to the ribs for hours.
Why this dish? Thick pea and salt pork soup is the quintessential Dutch dish, simmered in the galley's great cauldron to warm the watchmen in foul weather off the coast of New Holland.
My lads, when the southern wind freezes your fingers on the halyards, nothing beats the pea cauldron. Let them burst slowly in the water until they are nothing but a thick mush—if your spoon stands straight in it, it is cooked to perfection. Throw in the pork you desalted yesterday, a leek, and a grating of my nutmeg to gladden the belly. Eat it piping hot, and it is even better the next day.
Ingredients (period version)
- Dried split peas — a large bowl per man (base)
- Salt pork and salted pork meat — according to ration (fat and umami)
- Leek and onion — whatever the landfall provided (aromatics)
- Celeriac — one root (flavor)
- Nutmeg — a grating (signature)
Ingredients
- Split peas — 400 g (base)
- Salt pork or half-salt belly — 250 g (fat and umami)
- Half-salt pork knuckle — 1 (optional) (meat)
- Leeks — 2 (aromatic)
- Onion — 1 (aromatic)
- Celeriac — 1/4 (flavor)
- Nutmeg — 1 pinch grated (signature)
- Water — 2 l (cooking)
Method
- The day before, desalt the pork and knuckle by soaking them several hours in cold water, changed once.
- Rinse the split peas. Put them in a large pot with the water and desalted meats, bring to a simmer.
- Skim, then simmer covered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally so the peas do not stick.
- Add chopped leeks, onion, and celeriac. Continue for 45 minutes, until the peas have completely melted.
- Remove the meats, dice them, return to the soup. Grate the nutmeg, adjust salt (the pork already salts plenty).
- Serve very thick and piping hot. The soup is even better reheated the next day.
How it was made : Dried peas and salt pork were the protein base of long voyages because they kept in barrels. Slow cooking transformed these preserved provisions into a nourishing hot meal. The land version, erwtensoep or 'snert', remains a Dutch winter classic, considered good when the spoon stands upright.
The contemporary twist : A sliced smoked sausage laid on top and a dab of mustard: the modern snert of Amsterdam cafés, direct heir to the ship's cauldrons.
Abel Tasman · Charactorium
