Ärter med Fläsk (Pea Soup with Pork)

You may think you don't like pea soup. But if you've only ever had pea soup from a can, YOU HAVE NEVER HAD PEA SOUP. Make this once and you will never go back to the can.

In Sweden, Thursday is the traditional day to serve pea soup and pancakes. Or you could toss tradition out the window and make them any day you like.

ÄRTER MED FLÄSK
1 lb. (about 2 cups) dried yellow whole peas*
5 cups cold water
2 finely chopped medium onions
1 whole onion, peeled and studded with 2 or 3 cloves
1 lb. salt pork, most fat removed
1 t. leaf marjoram
½ t. thyme
salt (if needed) and pepper

Pick over dried peas, removing any foreign material, then wash in cold running water and place in a 2- to 3-quart pot. Cover with 5 cups cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil briskly for 2-3 minutes, then turn off heat and let peas soak for an hour.

Skim off any pea husks that have risen to the surface. Cut the salt pork in pieces and add it, the whole onion, finely chopped onions, marjoram and thyme to the pot. Bring back to a boil, then immediately lower the heat and simmer with pot partially covered for 1¼ hours or until peas are very tender. Remove the whole onion. Be sure to taste before adding salt -- it may not need any. Serve with fresh ground pepper. You may also remove the salt pork and serve it separately with a bit of spicy brown mustard if you like.

* You can substitute yellow split peas, but skip the soaking process and use only 4 cups cold water.

Pickled Herring

I know you're all keen to find out how to make pickled herring from scratch. (And if you're not, I don't want to hear about it.) This is the recipe straight from Grandpa Eriksson. He didn't bother to give much information by way of proportions, but if you've ever looked over a jar of pickled herring, I'm pretty sure you can figure things out.

PICKLED HERRING
salt herring fillets
water
white vinegar
sugar
carrots
red onions
fresh root ginger
whole allspice
whole mustard seed

Soak salt herring in cold water 6 hours or overnight, changing the water every two hours. Drain herring, pat dry with paper towels and cut into neat bite-sized chunks.

Make a brine of about 4 parts water to 1 part vinegar (for a small batch: 1 quart water, ½ pint vinegar). Saturate brine with sugar (it should taste sweet). Bring brine to a boil, then allow it to cool completely. Get out a large, clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Cut carrots and onions into thin rounds. Slice ginger very thin and place a thin round at the bottom of the glass jar. Layer in herring chunks, allspice berries, carrots, onions and mustard seed; repeat until jar is full. Add brine to jar, completely covering herring, and pack down to make sure no air bubbles remain. Tighten lid and let herring pickle in the refrigerator for at least five days before eating.

When not scarfing down nommy silver fish, store in the fridge.

Contributor: Karl Eriksson