This recipe started as a joke, but it turned out so good that I will make it more often! Dutch pea soup (erwtensoep) is a winter favorite in the Netherlands. When I found some leftover dried split peas from last year in my pantry and noticed how much protein they contain, I thought it would be fun to see if I could make them into muffins to take to work. The result was very flavorful and tasted exactly like Dutch pea soup. To increase the pea flour I included garden peas as well. These are quite handy if you need to bring some nutritious snacks. You can eat them cold, but 20 seconds in the microwave will make them even better. You could also make smaller versions as party food. Here’s what I did…

Ingredients

For 6 muffins

150 grams (3/4 cup) dried split peas (or pea flour)

100 grams (3/4 cup) garden peas (fresh or frozen)

100 grams (3.5 oz) smoked pork sausage (Dutch rookworst)

3 eggs

150 grams (2/3 cup) low-fat yogurt (Icelandic skyr is the best choice because very high in protein)

10 grams (2 tsp) baking powder

salt and freshly ground black pepper

160 ml (2/3 cups) pork stock (or chicken stock)

1 1/2 Tbsp pork fat (from making pork stock) or lard (or butter)

50 grams (1/3 cup) diced carrot

50 grams (1/3 cup) diced celeriac (celery root)

50 grams (1/3 cup) sliced leeks

100 grams (2/3 cup) chopped onion

1 Tbsp minced celery leaf (from the celeriac; you could substitute with parsley)

Instructions

Prepare the onion, leek, celeriac, and carrot.

For a better pork flavor I used the fat that floated on top of the pork stock, but butter or olive oil would work too. Heat the fat in a frying pan.

Add the leeks and onions and season with salt.

Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the onions and leaks are soft, about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, bring the stock to a boil.

Blanch the carrot and celeriac in the stock for about 3 minutes. (By blanching the vegetables in the stock rather than water, we keep all the flavor of the vegetables in the muffins.)

After blanching and when the leeks and onions are soft, strain the stock into the pan with the onions and leeks and set the carrot and celeriac aside to cool.

Allow the pork stock to reduce over medium heat…

…until it is reduced to about a quarter. Turn off the heat and allow to cool somewhat.

Grind the dried split peas to a fine powder (the dry container of the Vitamix is great for this).

In a large bowl, combine 3 eggs with 150 grams of yogurt. Whisk to mix.

Add the ground peas and 10 grams of baking powder.

Stir to mix.

Dice the smoked pork sausage and add it to the batter together with the onions, leeks, carrot, celeriac, garden peas, and minced celery leaf.

Stir to mix. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper. It should be seasoned generously for a classic pea soup flavor.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a muffin tin with paper cups and spray them with oil to allow for easier removal of the paper cups. Distribute the batter among the muffin cups.

Bake for 30 minutes at 180C/350F, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve warm or at room temperature. They will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.

Flashback

Razor clams are shellfish with an unusual shape. Compared to vongole (clams) they are sweeter and slightly more chewy. The recipe for linguine with razor clams is very similar to that of spaghetti alle vongole. Just like other clams, the razor clams come with a ‘built-in’ sauce that is delicious and it is important to include it in the dish.