Pea soup, Rhenish style

Ingredients for 20 servings:

• 1 kg peas, green, dried
• 6 large carrots
• 6 large onions
• 10 large potatoes, approx. 1500 g
• 3 leeks
• 1 kg smoked bacon, streaky
• 20 Bockwurst, approx. 120 g each
• 6 tbsp clarified butter
• 1 tbsp locust bean gum
• 6 tsp salt
• 3 tsp pepper
• 7 ½ g marjoram, dried
• 8 liters of water

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 6 hours; Total time approx. 19 hours 30 minutes

Finely dice the onions. Coarsely grate the potatoes and carrots and slice the leek into rings. Add the peas to 2 liters of water. Heat the clarified butter in a large pot. Add the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the bacon to the onions and top up with 6 liters of water. Bring to a boil once, then let it simmer for an hour. Add the potatoes, carrots, leeks, and peas to the pot with the soaking water. Let this simmer for 2 hours. Remove the bacon and cut into 1-2 cm pieces. Mash the soup with a masher. Add salt, pepper, marjoram, and locust bean gum to the soup. Add the sliced ​​bacon and sausages to the pot and keep hot on the stove for another 2 hours. It’s best to let the soup stand overnight, then reheat and season to taste the next day. Serve hot. Tip: Slice the sausages beforehand.