flipHiker's Split Pea Soup (Erbsensuppe)
Hiker's Split Pea Soup (Erbsensuppe)
Why this dish? Friedrich walked entire days sketching the Harz mountains, the cliffs of Rügen, the Baltic shores. Thick, nourishing pea soup, prepared the day before, was the warm comfort of the hiker and the traveller without fortune.
A dense soup of split peas simmered with a little smoked bacon and root vegetables, that sticks to the ribs and stays in the stomach for hours. The dish of roads and modest inns, even better reheated.
When I set out for the cliffs of Rügen or the peaks of the Harz, my sketchbook under my arm, I carry little: a crust of bread, and the memory of the pea soup that warmed me at dawn. Make it thick, the night before; it is better the second day, when the peas have turned to cream. This is a pilgrim's food, and is it not a little that, walking alone toward the horizon?
- •Dried split peas — two handfuls per person (nourishing base)
- •Smoked bacon — one piece (fat and smoky umami)
- •Onion — 1 (aromatic base)
- •Root vegetables (parsnip, turnip) — a few (earthy sweetness)
- •Marjoram, salt — to taste (seasoning)
Hiker's Split Pea Soup (Erbsensuppe)
A dense soup of split peas simmered with a little smoked bacon and root vegetables, that sticks to the ribs and stays in the stomach for hours. The dish of roads and modest inns, even better reheated.
Why this dish? Friedrich walked entire days sketching the Harz mountains, the cliffs of Rügen, the Baltic shores. Thick, nourishing pea soup, prepared the day before, was the warm comfort of the hiker and the traveller without fortune.
When I set out for the cliffs of Rügen or the peaks of the Harz, my sketchbook under my arm, I carry little: a crust of bread, and the memory of the pea soup that warmed me at dawn. Make it thick, the night before; it is better the second day, when the peas have turned to cream. This is a pilgrim's food, and is it not a little that, walking alone toward the horizon?
Ingredients (period version)
- Dried split peas — two handfuls per person (nourishing base)
- Smoked bacon — one piece (fat and smoky umami)
- Onion — 1 (aromatic base)
- Root vegetables (parsnip, turnip) — a few (earthy sweetness)
- Marjoram, salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Split peas — 300 g (nourishing base)
- Smoked bacon or smoked pork belly — 150 g (fat and smoky umami)
- Onion — 1 (aromatic base)
- Carrots and parsnip — 2 + 1 (earthy sweetness)
- Potato — 2 (thickening and body)
- Dried marjoram — 1 tsp (Northern fragrance)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Soak the split peas for a few hours (optional but speeds cooking).
- Sauté the diced bacon, add the chopped onion.
- Add the drained peas, cover generously with water, bring to a simmer.
- After 40 minutes, add the diced root vegetables and potato.
- Simmer for another 30 to 40 minutes until the peas break down into a cream.
- Season with marjoram, salt and pepper. Serve very hot with rye bread.
How it was made : Split peas, dried and easy to transport, were the ultimate reserve food: they were simmered in inns, barracks, and peasant homes in the North. The longer the soup rested, the thicker it became — ideal for carrying in a flask or pot for long walking stages.
The contemporary twist : Pour it into a thermos with a toasted rye crouton on the side: the painter's Wanderproviant, ready for your own hike facing the landscape.
Caspar David Friedrich · Charactorium
