Winter Market · Split Pea Soup
Erwtensoep
Photo: Takeaway / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
A proper bowl should be thick enough that a spoon can stand up in it — that's the informal test Dutch cooks use to know it's done right.
Dried split peas are simmered for hours with smoked sausage, bacon and root vegetables until they break down into a thick, dark green soup, usually finished with a slice of rye bread and bacon on top. Winter markets and ice-skating events around Zuid-Holland ladle it out from big pots to warm up crowds outdoors.
Why it's made this way: It developed as a hearty, low-cost way to stretch pulses and smoked meat through the cold months, and it remains tied to winter outdoor gatherings.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries.
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