Hernekeitto

Ingredients

Soup

• 500 gwhole dried yellow peas, soaked overnight
• 500 gsmoked ham hock
• 2 litreswater
• 1onion
• 1bay leaf
• salt
• black pepper

To finish

• 1 tspdried marjoram

To serve

• strong mustard
• pannukakku

Directions

1. Soak the peas overnight in plenty of cold water.
2. Use whole yellow peas rather than split. Finnish hernekeitto keeps whole peas among the purée, and split peas dissolve away completely into something smoother and less interesting.
3. Drain them and put them into a pot with the ham hock, onion, bay leaf and water.
4. Bring it to the boil and skim off the grey foam that rises in the first ten minutes.
5. Skim it properly. That foam is what makes an unskimmed pea soup taste muddy.
6. Simmer partly covered for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, until the peas are soft and some have broken down.
7. Do not salt it until the peas are soft, because salt added early keeps their skins tough.
8. Lift out the hock, strip the meat from the bone, chop it, and return it to the pot.
9. Stir in the marjoram and season with salt and plenty of black pepper.
10. Marjoram is the Finnish signature here and it goes in near the end so that it keeps its scent.
11. It should be thick but still pourable, with whole peas visible in it rather than a smooth purée.
12. Serve it with strong mustard, stirred into each bowl at the table.
13. The mustard goes into the bowl rather than the pot, and everyone adds their own amount, which is part of how the meal is eaten.
14. Follow it with pannukakku, the oven pancake, and jam.
15. The Finnish army has served pea soup every Thursday with pancakes after it, and the habit spread out from the barracks into canteens and homes across the country.

Technique

• Thursday is not a coincidence but a genuinely observed national habit, still followed in workplace canteens.
• It is better on the second day, as almost every pulse soup is.
• Tinned hernekeitto is a supermarket staple and eaten without any embarrassment.

Substitutions

• Salted pork or a piece of bacon in place of the ham hock.
• Smoked paprika for the smoke in a meatless version.

Variations

• Vegetarian, with no pork at all.
• Ärtsoppa, the Swedish cousin, also eaten on Thursdays.
• Thinned with stock into a lighter soup.

History

Pea soup with pork served in the Finnish army every Thursday, followed by pancakes; the habit spread to canteens across the country.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hernekeitto?

Hernekeitto is a soup & stew from Finland: thursday pea soup with ham, oven pancake after. Pea soup with pork served in the Finnish army every Thursday, followed by pancakes; the habit spread to canteens across the country.

How long does Hernekeitto take to make?

Hernekeitto takes 10 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 2 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Hernekeitto?

Yes, within limits. Salted pork or a piece of bacon in place of the ham hock. Smoked paprika for the smoke in a meatless version.

What is the most important thing to get right in Hernekeitto?

Use whole yellow peas rather than split. Finnish hernekeitto keeps whole peas among the purée, and split peas dissolve away completely into something smoother and less interesting.