The traditional English pea soup was made with dried peas, and its greeny-brown colour was so similar to the dense smog that dominated London in the winter (until as late as the 1960s), that the smog became known as a ‘pea-souper’. In Bleak House, Dickens referred to the fog as the ‘London Particular’, and the name has been used for both fog and soup ever since.
There are so many versions of pea soup that to say one is the definitive classical recipe is practically impossible. Soup made from tinned peas is my least favourite, but if made from dried, fresh or a mixture, can work well. The following, however, is the one I like best. It will always remind me of the time Bob Holness came on Ready Steady Cook, and I made him some pea soup. This allowed the lovable Fern Britton to utter these immortal lines, ‘Can I have a “P” please, Bob?’
ingredients
85g (3 oz) unsalted butter
1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
900g (2 lb) frozen peas
1 small bunch fresh mint, tied together
85g (3 oz) plain flour
300ml (10 fl oz) double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Ham stock
1 ham hock, about 900g (2 lb) in weight
3.4 litres (6 pints) water
2 carrots, trimmed
2 onions, peeled
1 head celery, washed
12 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
METHOD
To start the stock, soak the hock for 12 hours in cold water to cover. Drain off the soaking water, and cover the ham hock with the measured cold water. Bring to the boil and skim off any scum, then add the carrots, onions and celery, all whole. Leave gently to simmer for about 20 minutes, then add the peppercorns and bay leaf. Gently simmer on for 1 1/2-2 hours until the ham is cooked through. Watch it carefully, you don’t want the liquid to reduce too much. Strain off the stock for the soup – you will need 1.7 litres (3 pints). Put the ham to one side and discard the vegetables and flavourings.
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan, add the finely diced onion and half the frozen peas. Add the mint, and put the lid on the pan. Leave to gently stew for 3-5 minutes. At this point add the flour, and stir in carefully, possibly taking the pan off the heat to stop it sticking. Return the pan to the heat, and cook the pea roux for 2 minutes. Do not let it colour.
Slowly add the measured hot ham stock to the roux, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition to get rid of any lumps of flour. When the stock is all added, make sure that the bottom of the pan is clear of everything. Leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, blanch the remaining peas in boiling water for just 2 minutes. Plunge into a bowl of iced water, which will retain the bright green colour.
At this same time it is a good idea to take the skin from the ham hock, to take the meat from the bone and to carefully cut the latter into fine dice. Mix this ham with half of the blanched peas and keep to one side.
The soup is now cooked so take out the bunch of mint and put the remaining blanched peas (not those with the ham) into the soup. Liquidise the soup, and then I like to push it through a fine sieve or chinois (conical strainer). When all is through, re-boil the soup gently, adding the double cream, and checking for seasoning. Season as necessary. Put the reserved peas and ham into the soup, and serve immediately.
PS - It’s not always easy to buy ham hocks these days, except from good butchers. You could use gammon instead (or bacon rinds tied up in a muslin, for flavour). Use some boiled ham with peas in the soup at the end.
A pea soup is not traditionally served with ham in it, but this addition makes for a much more ‘gutsy’ dish.This soup is often served with toasted bread triangles, but I prefer it with croûtons, i.e. fried bread dice. Pea soup is great chilled with perhaps extra cream and chopped mint. The French serve stewed lettuce and baby onions with their pea soup.