ITALIAN PEA POTTAGE

Italian Pea Pottage image

Provided by Francine Segan

Yield Serves 8 to 10

Number Of Ingredients 9

2 slices thick-cut smoked bacon
1 large red onion, diced
1 quart stock
1 pound dried green split peas, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon freshly milled black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon crushed aniseed
1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup shredded smoked duck breast

Steps:

Cook the bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat for 7 to 10 minutes, or until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan, cut into small pieces, and set aside. Add the onion to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Add the stock, peas, bacon pieces, and 2 cups of water, and simmer for 1 hour, skimming away any impurities that rise to the top. Add the pepper, salt, and aniseed and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley and duck, and serve immediately.
Original recipe from The Accomplisht Cook, 1660:
Boil green pease with some strong broth, and interlarded bacon cut into slices; the pease being boiled, put to them some chopped parsley, pepper, anniseed, and strain some of the pease to thicken the broth; give it a walm [warm it] and serve it on sippets, with boiled chickens, pigeons, kids, or lambs-heads, mutton, duck, mallard, or any poultry. Sometimes for variety you may thicken the broth with eggs.