To one quart of split peas (whole peas are often difficult to burst,) put one gallon of soft water, and a pound of bacon, (not very fat,) or roast beef bones, or four anchovies, or instead of the gallon of water, a gallon of the liquor in which meat has been boiled, tasting it first, to make sure it is not too salt. Wash two heads of celery, cut it, and put it in, with two large onions peeled, a sprig of savory, and sweet marjoram; set it on the trivet, and let it boil gently over a slow fire, stirring it every quarter of an hour (to keep the peas from sticking to the bottom,) till the peas are tender, which will be in about three hours; then work it through a coarse hair sieve, and then through a fine one with the back of a wooden spoon; put it into a clean stewpan, with half a teaspoonful of ground black pepper *, let it boil again for ten minutes, and if any fat arises, skim it off. You may put in a head of celery cut into pieces an inch long, or a score of young button onions. Cut a slice of bread, that has been baked two or three days, into dice about half an inch square; put a tablespoonful of clean drippings into an iron fryingpan, and when it is melted, put in the bread, and fry it a light brown colour; take it up with a fish slice, and lay it on a sheet of paper to drain the grease; be careful this is done nicely: send these up in one side dish, and dried and powdered mint in another Those who are for a high relish, may have some bacon cut into small squares like the bread, and fried till it is crisp, and sent up in another little dish.

* Some put in dried mint rubbed to a fine powder; but as every body does not like mint, it is best to send it up on a plate.

Observations

The most economical method of making pease soup, is to save the bones of a joint of roast beef, and put them into the liquor a leg of mutton has been boiled in, and proceed as in the above receipt. A hock, or shank bone of ham, or a ham bone, or the root of a tongue, or a red herring, are favourite additions with some cooks; others send up rice or vermicelli with pease soup*.

Pease Soup Without Meat

A pease soup may be made savoury, full to the palate, and most excellent and agreeable, without any meat, by incorporating two ounces of fresh beef, mutton, or pork drippings, with two ounces of oatmeal, and mixing this well into the gallon of soup, made as in the first receipt.

Pease Soup, And Pickled Pork

A couple of pound of the belly part of pickled pork will make very good pease soup, if the pork be not too salt, i.e. if it has been in salt more than two days, it must be laid in water (he night before it is used, and put it on in a gallon of water, with the ingredients mentioned in the first receipt; let it boil gently for two hours, then put in the pork, and boil very gently for an hour longer; when done, wash the pork clean in hot water, and send it up in a dish, and the soup in a tureen, with the accompaniments ordered in the first receipt for pease soup.

* My witty predecessor, Dr. Hunter, (see Culina, page 97,) says, " If a proper quantity of curry powder be added to pease soup, a good soup might be made, under the title of curry peas soup. Heliogabalus offered rewards for the discovery of a new dish, and the British Parliament have given notoriety to inventions of much less importance than 'curry peas soup."

Observations

The meat is boiled no longer than to be done enough to eat; thus you get the soup without any expense of meat destroyed.

Plain Pease Soup

To a quart of split peas, and two heads of celery, put a gallon of soft water; let them simmer gently over a slow fire for three hours; when they are well softened, work them through a coarse hair sieve, and then through a fine one, into a clean stewpan, with two teaspoonsful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of ground black pepper. Prepare fried bread and dried mint as in the first receipt for pease soup, and send them up with it in two side dishes.

Observations

This is an excellent family soup, produced with very little trouble or expense; most of the receipts for pease soup, like those preceding this, are crowded with ingredients that completely overpower the flavour of the pea.