Axel's pea soup

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 250 g potatoes, mostly waxy
• 300 g soup meat (leg, rib, ribeye)
• Bacon and/or ham rind, smoked
• 1 pack of peas, dried or from a large can
• 1 bunch of soup vegetables, fresh
• 2 onions
• 2 pieces of smoked bratwurst
• Meat broth, instant, pea sausage
• Lovage, fresh or shredded
• salt and pepper
• 250 g pork belly, fresh, pork knuckle fresh, paws

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

Since fresh pork knuckle or pork hock in soup isn’t to everyone’s taste, but I believe the pork flavor MUST be in soup, I find the alternative of fresh pork belly to be a very good substitute. After the meat is cooked, you can use the belly, for example, as a “fake chop.” A recipe is in my profile. Regarding the rinds (from ham or bacon), you can ask your trusted butcher if he could save a few, as they usually get thrown away. I always have a few rinds, chopped up, frozen. Soak the peas overnight. Peel and dice the potatoes. Peel and dice the onions. Trim, dice, and slice the soup vegetables. Slice the bratwurst. Fry the bratwurst in a pan for about 10 minutes, add the onions, and finish roasting (the onions shouldn’t get too brown). Place the meat, pork rinds, and soaked peas in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45-60 minutes. Once the meat has simmered for about 30 minutes, add the vegetables, potatoes, and canned peas so they’re all cooked at the same time. After the cooking time, remove the meat and dice it. Season the soup with salt, pepper, lovage, pea sausage, and stock. Finally, stir the sausage and onions into the stew. Remove the pork rinds and chop them up, or serve whole with a knife and fork at the table (this always causes quite a stir, but tastes SUPER delicious). You can serve it with any kind of roll or bread.