Yellow Split Pea and Frankfurter Soup
by Nigella. Featured in FEASTIntroduction
This embracingly hearty meal of a soup always makes me feel grateful for the harsh winter weather. I used to make it for a cosy family New Year’s Day lunch, and still do happily, but it would be a shame to confine to just one annual outing. If you know you’re going to be out in the chill air and want something warming to greet you when you come back home, hands, nose and feet stinging from the cold, this is just what you need to have waiting for you. The soup can be made in advance (see Additional info below) up to the end of Step 4, though it will thicken considerably on standing, so you’ll need to add a little water when you reheat it. Once it’s bubbling and hot, you can get started on the frankfurters.
And it’s easily veganisable: just leave the frankfurters out or replace them with plant-based versions, and use vegetable rather than chicken stock.
Please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.
For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
This embracingly hearty meal of a soup always makes me feel grateful for the harsh winter weather. I used to make it for a cosy family New Year’s Day lunch, and still do happily, but it would be a shame to confine to just one annual outing. If you know you’re going to be out in the chill air and want something warming to greet you when you come back home, hands, nose and feet stinging from the cold, this is just what you need to have waiting for you. The soup can be made in advance (see Additional info below) up to the end of Step 4, though it will thicken considerably on standing, so you’ll need to add a little water when you reheat it. Once it’s bubbling and hot, you can get started on the frankfurters.
And it’s easily veganisable: just leave the frankfurters out or replace them with plant-based versions, and use vegetable rather than chicken stock.
Please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.
For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
Ingredients
Serves: 6-8
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 stick of celery
- 2 - 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon ground mace
- 500 grams yellow split peas
- 1½ litres chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 2 bay leaves
- approx. 8 frankfurter sausages
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 stick of celery
- 2 - 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon ground mace
- 2¼ cups yellow split peas
- 5½ cups chicken broth (or vegetable stock)
- 2 bay leaves
- approx. 8 frankfurter sausages
Method
- Peel the onion, carrot and garlic and cut the onion and carrot into rough chunks. Put them all, along with the roughly cut up stick of celery into the bowl of a food processor. Blitz till all are finely chopped.
- Spoon the oil into a heavy-based wide saucepan and put on medium heat.
- When warm, add the chopped vegetables from the processor and cook for 5-10 minutes, until soft but not coloured.
- Add the ground mace - this may be a small amount but it's crucial to the taste - give a good stir and then add the split peas and stir again till they're glossily mixed with the oil-slicked, cooked-down vegetables. Pour over 1.25 litres / 5 cups stock and add the bay leaves, then bring to the boil. Cover, turn down the heat and cook for about an hour until everything is tender and sludgy, adding more stock as needed. Sometimes the peas seem to thicken too much before they actually cook and need to be watered down. Taste for seasoning once everything's ready.
- You can add the frankfurters as you wish. It's probably easiest just to cut them into slices — I tend to add them in chunks of about 3cm / 1 inch each — and throw them into the soup to warm, but I just put them into the microwave (40 seconds on high is about right for one or two franks; fiddle about with times when there are more), then slice them hot and add them to each person's bowl as they come. Not an elegant soup, I'll admit, but a near-perfect one.
- Peel the onion, carrot and garlic and cut the onion and carrot into rough chunks. Put them all, along with the roughly cut up stick of celery into the bowl of a food processor. Blitz till all are finely chopped.
- Spoon the oil into a heavy-based wide saucepan and put on medium heat.
- When warm, add the chopped vegetables from the processor and cook for 5-10 minutes, until soft but not coloured.
- Add the ground mace - this may be a small amount but it's crucial to the taste - give a good stir and then add the split peas and stir again till they're glossily mixed with the oil-slicked, cooked-down vegetables. Pour over 1.25 litres / 5 cups stock and add the bay leaves, then bring to the boil. Cover, turn down the heat and cook for about an hour until everything is tender and sludgy, adding more stock as needed. Sometimes the peas seem to thicken too much before they actually cook and need to be watered down. Taste for seasoning once everything's ready.
- You can add the frankfurters as you wish. It's probably easiest just to cut them into slices — I tend to add them in chunks of about 3cm / 1 inch each — and throw them into the soup to warm, but I just put them into the microwave (40 seconds on high is about right for one or two franks; fiddle about with times when there are more), then slice them hot and add them to each person's bowl as they come. Not an elegant soup, I'll admit, but a near-perfect one.
Additional Information
As ever, when I signal stock, I don't mean you have to start boiling up chickens or whatever. I use some concentrated broth that comes in little bottles and mix it with water as indicated on the label.
MAKE AHEAD:
The soup can be made up to the end of step 4 — cool quickly and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To reheat the soup transfer it to a saucepan and heat gently, stirring frequently, until the soup is piping hot. Add the frankfurters, following the instructions in the recipe.
FREEZE:
It is easier to freeze the soup without the frankfurters, but if you are freezing leftovers than it can also be frozen with the frankfurters in. Cool and chill the soup in a non-metallic bowl then transfer it to a large airtight container (or freeze individual portions in smaller containers). Seal tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the soup overnight in the refrigerator. To reheat the soup transfer it to a saucepan and heat gently, stirring frequently, until the soup is piping hot. Add the frankfurters, following the instructions in the recipe. If the frankfurters were frozen in the soup then check that they are also piping hot all of the way through before serving the soup.
As ever, when I signal stock, I don't mean you have to start boiling up chickens or whatever. I use some concentrated broth that comes in little bottles and mix it with water as indicated on the label.
MAKE AHEAD:
The soup can be made up to the end of step 4 — cool quickly and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To reheat the soup transfer it to a saucepan and heat gently, stirring frequently, until the soup is piping hot. Add the frankfurters, following the instructions in the recipe.
FREEZE:
It is easier to freeze the soup without the frankfurters, but if you are freezing leftovers than it can also be frozen with the frankfurters in. Cool and chill the soup in a non-metallic bowl then transfer it to a large airtight container (or freeze individual portions in smaller containers). Seal tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the soup overnight in the refrigerator. To reheat the soup transfer it to a saucepan and heat gently, stirring frequently, until the soup is piping hot. Add the frankfurters, following the instructions in the recipe. If the frankfurters were frozen in the soup then check that they are also piping hot all of the way through before serving the soup.
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Show more commentsWonderfully satisfying, filling and easy to make. Perfect for a cold winters night.
This is my new favorite soup! I made it recently for friends, adding extra carrots, and decided to fry the frankfurters (cut in pieces) in oil on the stove, before adding them to the soup bowls - yum! I'm planning to a make a double batch soon, so I can freeze extra portions for those cold winter nights. So hearty, and just wonderful! BTW, I got the yellow split peas from an Indian grocery.
This is a heartily satisfying soup indeed - bursting with flavour and texture and incredibly moreish - so simple yet so effective. Thanks Nigella!
This has been my go-to soup recipe ever since I came across it a couple of years ago. It's warming, filling, and so tasty! I usually substitute the yellow split peas for red lentils as they are our household pulse of choice - and it cuts down on cooking time as well.
Just made this for the first time and can confirm it is divine. Just going to be hard to make it last and not just eat it all with a spoon now....
I have made this soup every New Year's Day since I received the cookbook as a Christmas gift years ago. It is delicious whether we "need" it or not. I also make it throughout the year as we crave it. It is a great use for those left over hot dogs that are grilled and not eaten up at a picnic. Delicious!
I'd been eying up this recipe for a few years as it looked so comforting on horrible cold days. I finally came across the yellow split peas in the health food shop and made it today. This really didn't disappoint. It was proper 'stick-to-your-ribs' food. I opted to heat the sausages up in the soup, that way their flavour gets into the broth a bit which is nice. Trouble is the remainder is calling out to me to be eaten.
And it gets ready super quick in a Dutch oven. That domed lid. 15 mins!
I'm making this now. It reminds me of the Schützenfest at Detmold, in Germany. They just drop a whole Frankfurter into a bowl of the soup and serve. Delicious!
Lovely, lovely dish - perfect after a cold day outside! Very hearty and warming. Reminded me of being at a Christmas Markt in Germany and warming up! Like the frankfurters but bratwurst may make an interesting variation. Thanks for bringing back some great memories!