Combined with the bowl, soup really is a most perfect food, on the level of potato hash and cereal.  It can be a meal on its own, an introduction to a meal to come, a quick cup eaten on the steps of some collegiate building, complete with soup nuts. That being said, I am not prejudice against soups that do not stick to your insides in a thick coating.  Split Pea Soup is an excellent stomach liner, but I’d never say no to the lighter and more playful soups in the pho, ramen, and dashi varieties.  While I love Split Pea Soup, and this one below you really should make, my quintessential Soup Moment is not from Ad Hoc.  (One may wonder why not, considering it comes complete with slab bacon, infused into the soup at every point of cooking.  Or, perhaps one is wondering, what and why, do I have a Soup Moment?  Not important.)

Fire Island, my favorite place in the world, requires a ferry trip.  And said ferry trip come with a snack stand, as most transportation depots do.  And this snack stand is typical—candy bars, donuts, fries, chicken fries, soda, coffee, etc.  But, there is one exception.  The absolute and most delicious Seafood Bisque made by a slightly sketchy and scary older gentleman across the street.  (If I remember correctly.)  This Seafood Bisque, with a rich tomato base, is full, impregnated even, with giant chunks of seafood.  A crab claw, whole?  Comes with every cup, I promise.  It is perfect, peppery, salt, and hot.  It is so delicious that it requires consumption, right there on the dock from those portable soup cups.  Even if it is over 80 degrees.  Huge emotional crises have been caused when a ferry is ready to leave right as my family and I arrive.  No!  Not yet!  We need soup!

So back to this soup, Split Pea Soup.  Delicious.  Comes with bacon.

Split Pea Soup

with slab bacon and fresh peas

Adapted from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 cups coarsely chopped leeks, washed

2 cups coarsely chopped yellow onions

2 cups thinly sliced carrots

kosher salt

12-inch diameter skin and/or rind of smoked slab bacon

3 quarts chicken stock

3 oz. slab bacon, cut into thick strips

2 cups, or one pound, green split peas

1 to 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

6 oz. slab bacon, cut and cooked into lardons

2 cups peas, (about 2 pounds in the pod), blanched quickly in boil water

½ cup crème fraiche or heavy cream

1.  Heat the canola oil in a large, 6-8 quart stockpot over medium heat.  Add the carrots, leeks, onions, and a generous pinch of salt.  Reduce the heat to low, and then cover all the vegetables with the bacon skin, creating a makeshift lid.  Add a real lid, and let the vegetables cook and steam very slowly, stirring occasionally for 35-40 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

2.  Add the 3 oz. of slab bacon and the 3 quarts of chicken stock, bring the entire mixture to a simmer, and them simmer for 45 minutes.  After 45 minutes, strain the stock.  Discard the vegetables, bacon, and bacon skin.  Return the stock to the stockpot and add the split peas and bring to a simmer.  Simmer for 1 hour, or until the split peas are completely soft and may have begun to break apart.

3.  Remove the soup from heat.  Season with 1 tablespoon vinegar and salt to taste.  Transfer ¾ of the soup to a blender and puree, in batches if necessary, until completely smooth.  Return to the ¼ of the soup in the stockpot.  If you have an immersion blender, blend the soup until most, but not all, of the lumps are gone.  Taste for seasoning, and add additional vinegar, salt, and pepper.  Place freshly blanched peas in single serving bowls and spoon soup over.  Top with crème fraiche and lardons, with extra pepper to taste.  Can be refrigerated for up to two days, or frozen for up to 2 weeks.

Pages: 1 2