Split Pea Soup
South Africa
Rising Cook
Cookies on African Food Network
We use essential cookies to make the site work. We would also like to set analytics cookies and advertising cookies, but only if you agree. You can choose each one separately. Read our cookie policy
Split pea soup is South African winter food, and it belongs to the same domestic tradition as sugar bean soup and other legume stews made to get a household through cold months cheaply. Split peas are ordinary peas dried and split along their natural seam, which lets them break down into a thick purée rather than staying whole. It is usually built on a meat base. Beef bones are the most common choice for the depth they give, though this version uses chicken drumsticks simmered first so their flavour goes into the water the peas then cook in. A meat free version is entirely possible and is made, but most South African households treat the meaty stock as the point of it. What it is served with is not negotiable in the households that make it: bread spread generously with margarine, or hot pap. It is the kind of dish that attaches itself to particular people and particular kitchens, and the contributor who submitted it describes it as their late grandmother's winter standby, made when the grandchildren visited during school holidays. That is how most South Africans encounter it.
Split pea soup belongs to the South African domestic winter repertoire of legume soups, conventionally built on a meat stock and served with bread or pap.
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself.
Add the water to a deep pot and add the chicken drumsticks. Boil the chicken for 10 minutes.
Once the chicken is ready, remove it from the water and add the split peas to the same water so the meaty flavour goes into the peas. Boil for 35 to 40 minutes, or until soft.
While the split peas cook, take the chicken off the bones and cut it into smaller pieces. Keep the bones.
Heat a little cooking oil in a pan and fry the onion until translucent, then add the spices and the chicken.
Once the peas are soft enough to break apart, add the chicken mixture to the soup, followed by the parsley.
Simmer for a few minutes and serve with pap or bread.
Personal notes from Tshego Stone7 reviews
Three tablespoons of garlic sounded like too much when I read it, but e sweet o! Boiling the split peas directly in that chicken stock made the soup so rich. My wife even asked if I added broth powder. Very good recipe sha.
Chale, I thought the garlic was too much too oo! But boiling the split peas directly in the stock is the real secret paa. Herh, tell your wife no need for broth powder at all when you use good stock. My grandmother in Accra even adds a little smoked turkey to hers, and the flavor is out of this world.
Ah, I could not find proper South African barbecue spice here in Silver Spring, so I used Cajun seasoning from the Giant grocery store. Mais c'est tres bon! The method of pulling chicken off the drumstick bones and cooking peas in the broth gives it such a deep taste, reminded me a bit of home comfort food.
Abeg do you leave the whole spice inside or strain it out before adding the split peas? I got yellow split peas from the International Market in Baltimore and they took nearly 50 mins to soften. Taste was nice sha, that chicken stock base helped a lot.
Chale 40 minutes was not enough for my split peas to break down completely oo. I had to leave them on the fire for almost an hour before they went soft. But boiling the drumsticks first to get that chicken water flavor is a smart idea paa.
Herh, the garlic and fried onion smell in the kitchen when you sauté the chicken was incredible paa. But 4 cups of water was a bit small for 500g split peas, mine turned into thick puree too fast and started burning at the bottom of the pot. Next time I will add 5 or 6 cups.
Yaw, you are so right o! Split peas drink water no be small thing. The exact same burning happened to me the first time I tried 4 cups. 6 cups is definitely better, or just keep a kettle of warm water nearby to top it up as it thickens.