Remember the nursery rhyme:
Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,
Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old;
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot, nine days old.
From what I've read, it seems that the nursery rhyme was Middle-English based, but I think that this could also refer to Snert -- each day, some of the soup is eaten and other items are added -- another carrot, an onion, a piece of bacon, more dried peas, etc., thus the "nine days old."
According to Wikipedia, oliebollen, or oily balls, are said to have been first eaten by Germanic tribes in the Netherlands during the Yule, the period between December 26 and January 6. The Germanic goddess Perchta, together with evil spirits, would fly through the mid-winter sky. To appease these spirits, food was offered, much of which contained deep-fried dough. It was said Perchta would try to cut open the bellies of all she came across, but because of the fat in the oliebollen, her sword would slide off the body of whoever ate them. Well, we ate our olieballen on January 29. Close enough.
Menu:
Outcome: For breakfast we had steaming mugs of cocoa topped with Stroopwafels (found at World Market.) The waffled sandwich cookies are very thin and have a layer of cinnamon-laced caramel in between that melts when placed directly on top of a hot mug. Wow. This was great! I also found some "Amsterdam" shortbreads at World Market that we dunked in our coffee/cocoa. Very good also!
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| World Market to the rescue! Note the Stroopwafels atop a mug. |
At dinner, we all enjoyed the soup. I made it on Saturday but served it on Sunday...therefore, it was Snert! It's said that to be a proper Snert, the spoon will stand up straight in the pot. It did!!! We opted not to puree the soup, as suggested in the recipe; instead, we wanted to see the carrot coins, diced potatoes, halved peas, etc. This recipe was plenty for us, plus there is enough left over for Bill and I to carry it for lunch all week. This is a very flavorful version of split pea soup -- I liked the slices of smoked sausage that were added at the end. What really "kicked this up a notch" was the simple buttered rye bread topped with slices of gouda that we all had with our soup. Oh, this was good!!! Spoon of soup, bite of bread, repeat!
Dessert was Olieballen. NOTE: the recipe states to add a tablespoon of dough to the hot oil -- but when I did, the outside cooked, but not the inside. So first, I dropped the temperature and I switched to dropping teaspoons of dough to the hot oil. These cooked quite nicely -- golden brown, crispy with a soft interior. After I cooked a batch, I sprinkled that layer with powdered sugar, then started on the next batch. It took a while and I probably won't make these again, but they were really good! The super-tart Granny Smith apple with rum-soaked raisins in a very light yeast doughnut batter came together very nicely. I think I'll work on making a baked version -- maybe a quick banana-type bread to have one day.
Next up: Bridget chose Russia!
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| Snert with rye bread and gouda |
Erwtensoep (Dutch Pea Soup), also called Snert
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dried green split peas
- 7 1/2 cups water
- 3 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
- 1 pork chop
- 1 bouillon/stock cube (vegetable, pork or chicken)
- 3 celery sticks
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 leeks, sliced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- handful of chopped celery leaves
- 1 loop (14-16 oz.) sliced smoked sausage, e.g. Rookworst (a Dutch smoked sausage)
- Rye bread, sliced and buttered
- Gouda cheese, sliced
Directions
- Boil 7.5
cups of water in a large soup pot, along with the split peas, stock cube, pork
chop and bacon. Skim off any froth forming on top as the pot starts to boil. Put
the lid on the pot and leave to boil slowly for 45 minutes, stirring
occasionally (it may stick if you don't stir).
- Remove the pork chop, debone and thinly slice the meat. Set aside. Add the vegetables to the boiling broth and leave to cook for another 30 minutes, adding a little extra water every time the soup starts to stick. Add the smoked sausage for the last 15 minutes, setting some slices aside. If you prefer a smooth consistency, puree the soup with a stick blender until it is as chunky or smooth as you like. Season to taste. Add the pork chop back to the soup.
- Serve the soup in bowls or soup plates, garnished with slices of smoked sausage and chopped celery leaf. Serve with buttered rye bread topped with Gouda for dippng into the soup.
Oliebollen
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup milk warmed to 110-115F + 1 tsp sugar
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- ½ cup raisins
- 1/3 cup rum
- 1 apple, peeled and finely chopped
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Canola oil
Directions
- Mix raisins and rum in a small bowl. Let soak at least 15 minutes, but overnight is better.
- Mix warm (110-115F) milk with sugar and yeast in a small
bowl. Stir briefly and leave to sit for 5 minutes.
The yeast doing its magic. - Add flour, sugar and salt to a large bowl. Combine, then add
milk/yeast mixture and egg, raisins with rum, apple and lemon zest. Stir to
combine, then cover with a damp towel and leave to rest for one hour.
- Heat oil on medium/low in a large deep pot. Do not overheat
the oil or the balls will burn on the outside and still be raw on the inside! Test the temperature with a tiny bit of the
batter to see how hot the oil is. The
ball should sizzle and brown slowly.
Use small balls of dough! - Scoop out pieces of dough about 1 tablespoon each, then fry in hot oil, flipping at least once, for 1 minute until golden brown.
- Drain – they should be soft inside, crispy outside and not
greasy. Dust generously in powdered sugar to serve.
Olieballen!
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