Pelēkie Zirņi ar Speķi

Latvia's grey peas with bacon, the fat marrowfat peas of the Baltic simmered soft and tossed through onion and pork fat, eaten at New Year by the bowlful

Origin: Latvia

From the journey of Pea.

Pelēkie zirņi ar speķi is the Latvian national dish and it is almost aggressively plain: grey peas boiled until soft, tossed with onion and diced bacon fried in its own fat, and served warm with a glass of buttermilk or kefir. That is the entire recipe. The peas are specific. Latvian grey peas are a large, brownish, marrowfat-type field pea grown in the Baltic for centuries, with a dense, almost chestnut-like texture that ordinary green or yellow split peas do not have. They carry a protected designation and Latvians abroad have them posted. The dish belongs to Christmas and New Year, and there is a superstition attached that is taken half-seriously: every pea in the bowl must be eaten, because any left behind is a tear you will shed in the coming year. It is also eaten through the winter as ordinary food, in a country whose traditional larder is rye bread, dairy, root vegetables, forest mushrooms, and Baltic fish.

Ingredients

Peas

400 g Latvian grey peas, or marrowfat peas
1.5 litres water

Fat

250 g fatty smoked bacon or pork belly, diced small

Aromatics

2 large onions, finely chopped

Seasoning

1.5 tsp salt, to taste
0.5 tsp black pepper

To serve

400 ml kefir or buttermilk, to serve

Method

Soak the peas in plenty of cold water overnight.
Drain, cover with fresh water, and bring to the boil. Skim off the foam, then simmer gently, uncovered, for one hour to ninety minutes until tender but still holding their shape.
While they cook, fry the diced bacon slowly in a dry pan over a medium-low heat until it has rendered a good deal of fat and the pieces are golden.
Add the chopped onion to the bacon and its fat and cook for ten minutes until soft and golden.
Drain the peas, reserving a cupful of the cooking water, and tip them into the bacon pan.
Fold everything together over a low heat for three or four minutes, adding a little cooking water if it looks dry. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve warm in bowls with a glass of cold kefir or buttermilk alongside.

Notes

Latvian grey peas carry a protected designation and are sold by Baltic grocers and online. Marrowfat peas are the closest substitute; split peas are not, as they collapse. The New Year custom is that every pea must be eaten, since any left is a tear in the year to come. A vegetarian version fries the onion in plenty of butter or oil with a good pinch of smoked salt.

The Gastrographer

Name: Pelēkie Zirņi ar Speķi
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Latvia
Ingredients: 400 g Latvian grey peas, or marrowfat peas; 1.5 litres water; 250 g fatty smoked bacon or pork belly, diced small; 2 large onions, finely chopped; 1.5 tsp salt, to taste; 0.5 tsp black pepper; 400 ml kefir or buttermilk, to serve

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control