Acadian Whole Pea Soup

Acadian Whole Pea Soup

I've been watching a lot of episodes of Swamp People lately. One of the main characters of the show is based out of Pierre Part, Louisiana. For seven years in a row, my son and I stayed in a cabin near Pierre Part and fished in the bayou. It's been several years since my last stay down there and I miss it. When I watch Swamp People, I'm reminded of all the fun we had on the bayou.

Because of my years of travel to south Louisiana, I developed a love of Cajun food. I've had wonderful meals at several restaurants in Donaldsonville as well as Pierre Part. 

I've done a some reading about the Cajuns and their ancestors, the Acadians. I even have a book of old Acadian recipes and I've tried a few of them. I have decided not to include them here. For example, I don’t think a recipe for Mackerel Pie will be appreciated by most of you. This soup recipe is not from that book.

Whenever you serve roast ham for dinner, you need to save the ham bone. With a meaty ham bone, you are well on your way to a great pea soup. Now don’t argue with me on this. A rich pea soup is an essential part of civilized life. It will also help you to turn a simple dinner into a feast. If you make this soup, I promise not to bother you with that worn out joke about the first step: take a pea. Besides, I intend to use that joke in my Leek Soup recipe.

I call this an Acadian recipe for pea soup. How do I know it's Acadian? Very simple. This is how I would make soup if I was an Acadian preparing to migrate to Louisiana in the early 1700's. So therefore I feel pretty confident that this is how they must have made it too. Why would they do it differently? Go ahead and give this a try. 

4 slices smoky bacon, chopped fine

2 onions - chopped

2 stalks of celery  - chopped

2 carrots chopped

1 clove of garlic, smashed and minced

1 ham bone

2 bay leaves

1 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. savory

1 tsp. cajun seasoning

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 lb. dried whole peas - not

split peas

1/2 cup chopped parsley 

water

Preparation

Use a paper plate to sort the peas into a strainer. Don’t just pour the peas into the strainer. Sort them carefully. You’ll be surprised what you find mixed in with the peas. Throw out anything that doesn’t look like a pea. Rinse the peas under cold water several times.

Place the soup pot on the stove and allow it to heat up. Add the bacon and cook until it starts to brown and most of the fat has rendered out of it. Add the onions, celery and carrots and allow them to sauté for a couple minutes. Add the garlic, the ham bone and all of the seasonings. Add the peas and lots of water. Make sure you add enough water to cover the ham bone, this is going to cook for a while.  

Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat and reduce it to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for two hours. Now, every so often, give this soup a good stir. After it has cooked for a few hours, squish a few peas against the side of the pot as you stir. 

Taste for seasoning and adjust it by adding more cajun seasoning, thyme, salt and pepper as needed. Let the soup simmer until it starts to thicken, about a half hour or more. Stir often. Taste it again, adjust the seasonings and you are ready to serve it. 

Serving

You can start just about any meal with this soup. Make sure you have plenty of warm, fresh bread and butter to have with your soup. You will also need a bottle of Tabasco. I find I use a lot! As for the wine, I will have to know what your main course is before I can suggest which wine to open. Oh, heck, open a Chianti. That goes with just about everything.