It may have been a lovely sunny day – at least until about 3pm when the rain started – but it is still winter, still the season to make and eat soup, still the season to keep cosy. A favourite in our house is pea soup, made with either green or yellow split peas. Pea soup is traditionally served in Sweden on Thursdays, followed by pancakes. There are as many stories as to what is behind this as there are recipes, but as 1) I am making soup on Wednesday 2) I am using green split peas and not yellow ones and 3) I am not that great at making pancakes, this pea soup owes more to what is in the store cupboard than anything else.
Ideally of course, one would make it with a ham bone, but you know these things aren’t exactly always easy to get hold of, so I make mine with bought stock and add some bacon. I usually get my peas on (don’t forget the bay leaves) while I prepare the veggies – onion, a carrot and today, a bit of left over silverbeet. Bacon is chopped up and tossed into the frying pan, and then the vegetables are added. Once things begin to turn golden, I tip them into the soup and let things simmer.
For today, we are having juicy, buttery garlic bread, which I think complements the soup well. The swirl of sour cream didn’t quite work out…..
Finally, the title of the post is of course from the mock turtle’s song in Alice in Wonderland.
Beautiful Soup so rich So green,
Waiting in a hot tureen
Who for such dainties would not stoop.
Lewis Carroll
Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com or lofgren@thistlesandkiwis.com
Thistles and Kiwis 
That soup looks delicious.. I can almost smell it from here…
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Thank you!
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I don’t think I have ever had this soup but it looks delicious. I will be in Sweden in a few weeks maybe I will have an opportunity to try it.
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It will be different to mine but you should be able to find some somewhere.
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This soup is so yummy 😋. Anita
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I don’t make pea soup, but I do make lentil soup which is similar. Soup features a lot in my winter menus.
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I make a lentil soup too…with added mushrooms.
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Haven’t tried that. Mushroom soup is one if my favourites.
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I actually wrote a blog post about my favourite lentil soup once would you believe!
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We are a family of soup lovers and even eat it in the summer. Garlic bread is a great pairing with soup, even better than pancakes, which are one of my favorites.
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Love pea soup. I’m lucky to often have a ham bone. Pancakes and soup… not a combo I would have put together.
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The pancakes are dessert – not served with the soup!
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Are they sweet pancakes? What is typically served with them?
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Yes – jam and whipped cream is a classic. The pancakes are really thin too,
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More like crepes?
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Yes!
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Ah now I get it
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This soup sounds delicious (the ham leg has me salivating)- I will give it a try one day.
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Hi, Barbara – Brilliant timing. My Classics Book club has recently read Alice in Wonderland and will be discussing it shortly. Your soup looks delicious. If you could send that, plus some rain, our way both would be greatly appreciated!
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Alice in Wonderland was a favourite of mine – I should read it again. I would send you rain – and soup – if I could!
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Pea soup is my favorite! I like to cube some ham and throw it in. We would have onion, carrot and celery in our usual version, and green split peas. I wish I had some today – we finally got rain and the cooler temps are a bit of a shock after the high temps we have had. Soup would be perfect!
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It is a good soup, especially on a winter day…or a chilly summer one!
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You’ve inspired me to make pea soup again, it is one of my favourites, and easily made. I do have some silverbeet in the garden so that is a nice addition.
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Probably my favourite soup but I never make it for some reason. Perhaps I will now.
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I appreciate your beautiful photos and your simple text. Your post is so encouraging to budding cooks like me.
I do make pea soup once a year, with the bone and trimmings from the Christmas ham. You’re inspiring me to make it more often!
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Yes you should make it more often! And thanks for your kind words.
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