In Sweden, traditionally, Thursday was soup day because maids had half the day off and because soup was easy to prepare in advance, it became the meal of choice for them. To this day, yellow pea soup (ärtsoppa) is still served in restaurants and some households on Thursdays. The tradition arose from the Swedish association of peas with  Thor. It’s a simple and nourishing meal and is often served with a little mustard – followed by thin pancakes (pannkakor). The Swedish Army still serve their conscripts pea soup and pancakes every Thursday. Potatoes are usually served with the soup and not bread.

Ingredients

• 500 g dried yellow or green peas (whole if you can get them, but split ones work just as well)
• 2 litres water
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 peeled whole onion studded with 2 cloves
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 meaty ham bone (you can also use 2 – 3 ham hocks)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• ½  tsp pepper
• 1 tsp grainy brown mustard

Method

• Rinse and pick through the dried peas – should you be using whole peas, soak them overnight in the water that will be used for the soup (if you are using split peas, you can skip this exercise as long as you’re aware of the fact that you will be boiling the soup for 2 – 3 hours.
• Fill a large pot with 2 litres of water and add the peas, the onions, the peeled whole onion that you  studded with two whole cloves, the carrot,  the ham bone (or the hocks) and bring all this to a boil, cover the pot and reduce to a simmer over low heat -  simmer for 90 minutes.
• If you are using whole peas, skim off any pea skins that may have risen to the surface.
• After an hour, remove about 2 to 3 cups of the soup, pour into your blender or food processor and puree – then return this to the pot (this helps to thicken the soup).
• Continue to simmer for another hour, stir a few times and check to see whether it is ready – it must be cooked and quite thick, if not – put it back on the stove and continue for another 30 minutes.
• Before serving, remove the studded onion and the meat and bones, chopping the meat and retuning all of it to the pot.
• Season the soup with the thyme, the ginger, salt and pepper to taste and simmer for another 15 minutes.
• Serve, passing around grainy brown mustard to stir into soup to taste.