Dutch Snert Recipe

Snert is a traditional soup made with green split peas from the Netherlands. Besides green split peas, its basic ingredients are celeriac, leeks and meat. The soup is slow cooked until the split peas become mushy and it is eaten as a main meal. It is sometimes served with bread but traditionally it is followed by pancakes.

Green split peas are mature green peas that are dried, dehulled and then split in half. There is no single recipe for snert and its ingredients vary greatly. The meat is usually pork and choices include pork belly, leg, rib, ham hock and rookworst which is a Dutch sausage. Ingredients used to flavor the soup include bay leaves, thyme, parsley and seasoning mixes like bouillon cubes. Other vegetables used are onions carrots and potatoes.

While its thickness is attained by the breaking down of the split peas as it cooks, an old trick to further thicken the soup is to grate in potatoes near the end of the cooking time. The soup is considered ready when a spoon placed in the middle remains upright.

Snert is the colloquial term for this soup, but its proper name is erwtenseop. Erwten meaning pea and seop for soup. While it’s not certain why it’s called snert, a few sources suggest that it is an old Dutch word referring to any thick stew or soup.

Origin & Significance

Snert originates from the Netherlands. It is an essential winter soup because it is filling, warming and can be made with simple ingredients. The beloved soup even has a Snert world cup hosted in the Netherlands where participants compete to make the best snert. The event is nearly three decades old.

Continue to Content

Dutch Snert Recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Snert a traditional soup made with green split peas from the Netherlands. Besides green split peas, its basic ingredients are celeriac, leeks and meat.

Print

Ingredients

• Green Split peas - 2 cups
• Water - 8 cups
• Carrots - 2
• Celery stalks - 1 cup
• Onion - 1
• Bay leaves - 2
• Black pepper and salt - to taste
• Rookworst - 1

Instructions

1. Rinse the split peas and remove anything that doesn't belong (stones, sticks, dried up discolored peas).
2. Put the peas and 8 cups of water in a soup pot.
3. Peel and chop the vegetables and add to the peas.
4. Bring to a boil, add the bay leaves, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes.
5. Stir it occasionally so it doesn’t burn, add some water if you feel the soup is getting too thick.
6. When the peas are soft, remove the bay leaf and stir the soup several times vigorously to break down the peas, until creamy.
7. Slice the rookworst and add it to the pot.
8. Turn the heat back up until the meat is hot.
9. Taste and adjust the salt level if needed.
10. Season with black pepper and serve.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 140Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 201mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 10gSugar: 5gProtein: 9g

Nutrition is provided and calculated by Nutritionix. It is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimation.