Hernekeitto, a vegetarian recipe from Finland

Name: Hernekeitto
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 100 min
Total time: 115 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Finland
Ingredients: 400 g dried yellow split peas; 1.5 l water; 1 large onion, finely diced; 2 carrots, sliced; 2 bay leaves; 2 tsp dried marjoram; 2 tbsp rapeseed oil; 2 tsp salt; Strong mustard, to serve

Method

Rinse the peas and cover them with 1.5 l cold water. Leave to soak overnight.
Bring the peas to the boil in their soaking water. Skim the grey foam that rises during the first five minutes.
Lower the heat, add the bay leaves and simmer covered for 1 hour. The peas should crush under a fork.
Sweat the onion and carrot in the oil for 8 minutes, then tip them into the pan.
Cook for another 30 minutes. Crush a quarter of the peas against the side of the pan to thicken the soup.
Add the salt and marjoram off the heat at the end. Fish out the bay leaves.
Serve in deep bowls with a pot of strong mustard that each person stirs into their own spoonful.

Finns eat this soup on Thursdays, a habit traced to medieval monasteries that cooked a filling dish before the Friday fast. Salt goes in at the end so you can judge it, not to protect the peas: salted from the soak, their skins actually soften.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.
Reduce
Uncovered, water leaves and flavour concentrates. It is done when the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

Frequently asked questions

Should I discard the soaking water?

No, here the peas cook in it. What matters is skimming off the grey foam that rises during the first five minutes of boiling, since that is what clouds the broth.

When does the salt go in, and why?

At the end, off the heat, with the marjoram, mainly so you can judge it once the soup has thickened. Contrary to a common belief, salt does not toughen the pea skins: in the soaking water it actually softens them.

How do I thicken it without blending?

Crush a quarter of the peas against the side of the pan with a wooden spoon. The released starch binds the broth while whole peas remain, which full blending would take away.

Hernekeitto

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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