Recipe
for :
 Memories
of growing up are continually dogged by Mother's "Mushy"
Pea Soup. My brother and I must have eaten gallons of
it during our teenage years, even to the stage where
I think my brother was getting withdrawal symptoms if
he did not get a regular "fix".
All
our friends knew Mum's pea soup and would often ask
if there would be any available if they called around.
And during winter months any guests of the family who
were invited for lunch would invariably start their
meal with a bowl of good old pea soup.
Mind
you it was good and on a cold winter's day was both
warming and nourishing.
During
the winter months the kitchen was like a production
line for pea soup with a pan of it always on the go.
We even had pea soup lollies for the times when supply
wasn't keeping up with demand - that was pea soup deep
frozen in long half pint containers - all it lacked
was the sticks and you could have sat their on a hot
summer's day licking a nice cooling pea soup lolly!
The
great secret of the pea soup died with my mother a few
year's ago. As I have got older I have looked to recapture
those recipes from my youth because as well as tasting
good they are imbued with fond memories (you forget
the bad ones) so over the last two months I have been
creating various concoctions in an attempt to re-create
the famous pea soup. I am pleased to say that I have
succeeded to the point where only an experienced connoisseur
of Mum's soup might be able to tell the difference.
Part
of the problem has been the ingredients. Back when Mum
used to make it you could get ham bones from the grocer
(it was the grocer that sold the bacon in the UK and
not the butcher). The arrival of supermarkets saw the
death of the independent grocer in the early 70s and
with it the availability of ham bones. If you can still
get them so much the better otherwise like me you will
have to rely on stock cubes!
Ingredients
8
pints water (vary according to size of pan)
4 sticks of celery
2 large carrots
3 pkts dried peas (the type you have to soak with
a steeping tablet for 24 hours)
4 ham stock cubes or 1 ham shank boiled for three
hours and left overnight
Fresh ground pepper
Sea salt
Method
- Remember
you will need to soak your peas for 24 hours before
you need them.
- If
using a ham shank you will need to simmer it for three
hours or so and if possible leave it in the stock
overnight. Reduce your water by the amount of stock
you have.
- You
will need a saucepan that is capable of holding at
least 8 pints of liquid. Add water to your stock to
bring it up to approximately eight pints (depends
on size of your pan) or add your stock cubes to water
and dissolve by heating.
- Rough
chop your celery and carrots and add to stock. (Do
not add any salt - salt stops the flavour from coming
out of the vegetables). Bring to boil and simmer for
about an hour.
- Drain
and rinse your peas which have been soaking and add
to pan. Bring liquid in pan back up to level at start
of process.
- (If
using stock cubes taste to see if additional stock
cubes might be required)
- Bring
back to to the boil and simmer for two to three hours
with a lid on.
- Remove
from heat and put through liquidiser. Add salt and
pepper to taste.
- Serve
hot with chunks of freshly baked bread.
Serves
12 bowls
Hub-UK
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