Victorian Pea Soup Recipes
From 'The Dictionary of Daily Wants' - 1859
PEAS SOUP.- There are various ways of making this
well-known and agreeable soup. The following are among the most approved recipes:
1. Save the liquor of boiled pork or beef: if too salt,
dilute it with water, or use fresh water only, adding the bones of roast beef, a ham or
gammon bone, or an anchovy or two. Simmer these with some good whole or split peas; the
smaller the quantity of water at first the better. Continue to simmer till the peas will
pulp through a cullender; then set on the pulp to stew - with more of the liquor in which
the peas were boiled - two carrots, a turnip, a leek, and a stick of chopped celery,
till all are quite tender. When ready, put into a tureen .some fried bread cut into dice,
dried mint rubbed fine, pepper and salt, and pour in the soup.
2. Wash a quart of split peas, and put them into a cloth; when boiled
tender, rub them through a sieve into six quarts of boiling stock; take six onions,
two bay-leaves, an ounce of allspice, three sprays of thyme, or three of marjoram; put
them all into a stewpan with an ounce of butter, until they are of a brown colour; put
them into the stock, and boil for ten minutes; then strain it through a sieve, and let
it boil ten minutes more; serve with mint, and with toast cut into squares.
3. Put into a pan six pounds of pork, well soaked and cut into eight
pieces, pour six quarts of water over it; add a pound of split peas, a teaspoonful of
sugar, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and four ounces of fresh vegetables; let these boil
gently for two hours, or until the peas are tender. Strain through a sieve and serve.
4. Wash a quart of split peas, which put into a stewpan with half a pound
of streaked bacon, two onions sliced, two pounds of veal or beef, cut into small pieces,
together with a little parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf; add a gallon of water, with a little
salt and sugar, place it upon the fire, and when boiling, stand it at the side until the
peas are boiled to a pulp and the water is reduced to one-half; then take out the meat,
put it upon a dish, to be eaten with the bacon, keeping it hot in the meantime, rub
the soup through a hair sieve, put it into another stewpan, and when boiling, serve.
5. Put a pint of split peas into four quarts of water, with two ounces of
butter, three pounds of beef, one pound of crushed bones, and a knuckle of ham, or half
a pound of good bacon; add two carrots, three turnips, a head of celery, four onions,
and a seasoning of salt and pepper; boil for about three hours; then crush the pulp from
the peas, through a sieve, and serve it up, making of the meat a separate dish, if
desired.
6. Green peas soup. Pat two quarts of green peas into a stewpan with a
quarter of a pound of butter, a quarter of a pound of lean ham cut into small dice,
two onions sliced, and a few sprigs of parsley; add a quart of cold water, and rub all
well together; then pour off the water, cover the stewpan close, and set it over a brisk
fire, stirring the contents of the stewpan round occasionally; when very tender, add two
tablespoonfuls of flour, which mix well; in mashing the peas against the sides of the
stewpan, add two quarts of stock, a tablespoonful of sugar, and a seasoning of pepper and
salt; boil all well together for five minutes, then rub it through a tammy or hair sieve;
then put it into another stewpan with a pint of boiling milk; boil for five minutes,
skim well, and pour it into a tureen: serve with toasted bread cut into squares.
