Zuppa di Piselli Secchi

Name: Zuppa di Piselli Secchi (Dried Pea Soup)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3 slices of stale bread, diced; 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley; 100 g butter; 500 g green split peas, soaked overnight; 200 g smoked speck or smoked pancetta, cut into cubes; 200 g smoked speck or smoked pancetta, cut into cubes; 1 large potato, peeled and finely diced; 1 leek, trimmed and finely chopped; Parma ham bone, for flavour (optional); 2 litres water; salt and pepper; salt and pepper

Dried Pea Soup

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Antonio Carluccio – The Collection

By Antonio Carluccio

Published 2012

About

“A rare soup in Italy, mostly found in the areas of Germanic influence like the northeast using dried peas for a change. It is a winter soup which is very comforting and requires only minimal attention.”

Ingredients

500 g green split peas, soaked overnight
100 g butter
200

Europe
Italy
Germany
Mediterranean
Soup
Winter

Method

Drain and check the peas for impurities. Put half of the butter in a pan and fry the speck and leek until tender. Add the potato, peas, the water and the Parma ham bone, if using. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1¼ hours, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste at this stage, when the soup has some texture. (It would become a cream if you cooked it a little longer.