Tag: #soup

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It’s delicious at cold days in having a Dutch Pea Soup

It’s delicious at cold days in having a Dutch Pea soup. We call it in Dutch “Hollandse erwtensoup”. This thick and hearty soup is a beloved staple in Dutch cuisine, traditionally enjoyed during the chilly winter months. Made with tender peas, smoky Gelderse rookworst, and an array of fresh vegetables, it’s a dish that warms both the heart and soul.

Each spoonful offers a perfect blend of textures and flavors, making it a cozy comfort food that’s perfect for those days. Whether you’re savoring it by the fireplace or sharing it with friend and family, Hollandse erwtensoup is sure to bring warmth and cheer to any occasion🍲✨

Cooking time 4 portions: ~60 minutes

Ingredients & Tools

  • 300gr green split peas
  • 1x leek – we only need the white stalk
  • 1x onion
  • 1x big carrot
  • 3x potatoes or use ¼ celeriac. In Dutch it is knolselderij
  • 2-3 stalks celery
  • 3x laurel/bay leaves
  • 200gr small cube bacon pieces
  • 1x Dutch Gelderse rookworst, a Dutch type of smoked sausage e.g. from the brand Unox
  • 1x chicken stock block
  • 1x big soup pan
  • Optional: bread

What to do?

  1. Soak the peas overnight to soften them. Some brands may require soaking for 2 days to soften them. How to know if they are soft enough? You can give them a gentle squeeze. If they yield easily without feeling hard or grainy, they are ready to go. It’s like checking avocados for ripeness, but less hipster and more practical.
  2. ————- Next Day ————-
  3. Do not discard the pea water.
  4. Put the peas, bacon, laurel leaves and a splash of pea water into the pan, and bring it to boil. The water level should be 2 cm above the top of the ingredients. Add boiled water if needed.
  5. Remove the foam and let it simmer for about 30 minutes until the peas are soft.
  6. Stir the soup regularly to prevent it from burning at the bottom.
  7. If they are not soft yet or easy to smash, then simmer the peas longer until they are. Add a bit of boiled water if needed to keep the liquid level right.
  8. ————-  Vegetables ————-
  9. Once the peas have transformed into a cloudy creamy soup consistency, we are ready for the vegetables.
  10. Cut up all the vegetables into small bite sizes and add them to the pan.
  11. Add the bouillon block as well.
  12. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.  
  13. You can add boiled water to achieve the soup consistency you prefer. However, the Dutch pea soup should be thicker than fluid.
  14. ————-  At the end ————-
  15. Slice the Dutch Gelderse sausage thin, into nice bite-size pieces.
  16. Once the soup consistency is right and the vegetables are tender, add the sausage and simmer for about 10min.
  17. Your soup is ready to serve.

A hearty slice of bread pairs deliciously with Dutch pea soup, like a trusty companion ready to soak up every drop of the velvety goodness.

Bon appétit! Enjoy your traditiona Hollandse erwtensoep 🙂

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Borscht soup with meat

In this covid19 period and having social distancing to keep everybody safe…. me, my partner and his friends started with a weekly virtual dinner meet-up. We mutual agree on a recipe to cook and at lazy times we do delivery/takeaway in a particular kitchen. 

Today, we all cook the famous Ukrainian/Russian beetroot soup, borscht. Each of us makes his own version of borscht. One having meat, with shrimps (my partner’s style) or vegetarian.

Naturally, I go for the original borscht with meat. How can it not go with meat, right? This is my 1sttime cooking borscht and I will never forget this delicious soup when I ate this in Russia. I really hope I will get close to this memorable taste.

The result was surprisingly good, almost close to the one I had in Russia. Maybe next time, when I try again 🙂

Serves 4P and cooking time 1:30-2hrs

Ingredients

  • 300gr unboned stew meat or veal shin (NL: kalfsschenkel) – cut meat in pieces
  • 1L cold water
  • ½ Tbsp salt + more at taste 
  • 2 medium beetroot – peel and grate or cut in bite size pieces
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil2 Tbsp vinegar
  • ½ Tbsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp tomato sauce 1 shallot – fine dice
  • ½ Tbsp butter1 medium carrot – peel and cut in bite size or grate
  • 3 medium potatoes –peel and cut in bite size
  • 1 tomato – optional peeled and cut in dices
  • 1 bay leave
  • ½ tsp pepper 
  • 10gr dille (handful) – chop + fresh sprigs for garnish
  • 1 clove garlic – pressed
  • Sour cream – optional for garnish 

Kitchen Tools

  • Large soup pot
  • Food processor
  • Large bowl
  • Frying pan

What to do?

1) Wash meat in cold water and cut in pieces. Place in a large soup pot with 1 liter cold water +  ½ Tbsp salt. Bring it to boil and remove the foam while it boils. Keep doing this until there is no foam crud as this will be your broth. Then lower the heat and boil for 45min-1hr. Regularly remove crud if needed.

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2) Grate beet in food processor or cut in bite size. Place the beet in a large bowl and add 2 Tbsp olive oil + 2Tbsp vinegar. Stir well and sauté 5min in pan. Then lower the heat, add ½ Tbsp sugar + 1 Tbsp tomato sauce. Stir well for 10min. Place the beet back in the bowl and set aside.

3) Use the same pan, no need to wash it. Sauté the onion in ½ Tbsp butter for 2min. Add carrot and sauté for another 5 min or until it gets soft. Then add into big bowl of beet.

4) Once the meat has been cooked for minimum 45min, add the diced potatoes in the soup pan and cook for 10min. Then add sautéed beet, onions, carrot and diced tomatoes. Cook for another 10min.

5) Add 1 bay leave, ½ tsp pepper and salt to taste.

6) Add chopped dille and pressed garlic in soup pan. Stir well and cover with lid. Cook the soup in low heat for 20min.

Finally: serve the soup hot and garnish with fresh dille sprigs and a little bit of sour cream (optional).

Borscht Soup with Meat

Eet Smakelijk!

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Asian Pumpkin Soup

Quick and easy in cooking pumpkin soup with an Asian spicy flavour. Serve it for lunch and have some toasts on the side or serve it as starter with a nice home cooking dinner meal. Hope you like this dish.

Serves 4P and cooking time 40min

Ingredients

  • 1x small golden nugget pumpkin
  • 5x tomatoes
  • ½ shallot
  • 200gr shitake mushroom
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • 1x tea spoon Thai red curry paste
  • Garnish with beetroot or red cabbage sprouting seeds or coriander
  • Sea salt to add to taste
  • Potato peeler
  • Soup pan or a big pan
  • Measuring cup
  • Colander
  • Food blender

What to do?

  1. —— Prepare Pumpkin ——
  2. Put the pumpkin in microwave for 2min/900W. This is too soften the skin so you can easily peel the skin.
  3. Remove top and end of pumpkin.
  4. Cut pumpkin in half and remove fibers and seeds with a spoon.
  5. Cut pumpkin in blocks.
  6. —— Continue With Cutting ——
  7. Wash and cut tomatoes in quarters and remove stem/core.
  8. Fine dice shallot 
  9. Cut shitake mushrooms in thin slices.
  10. Wash and drain the garnish on a kitchen paper towel.
  11. —— Start Cooking ——
  12. Fry shallots in olive oil.
  13. Add pumpkin and tomatoes in pan.
  14. Add curry paste and stir well.
  15. Add 400ml water.
  16. Cook for 20min on medium/high heat.
  17. Blend ingredients in pan into puree.
  18. Add shitake and cook 10min on low/medium heat.
  19. Stir from time to time.
  20. Pre-taste and add pinch of salt to taste

Finally: fill up soup bowl and garnish with sprouting seeds or coriander.

Asian Pumpkin Soup

Eet smakelijk!

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