Québécois yellow split pea soup — dried yellow peas slow-simmered with a ham hock (or salt pork), onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, and savory until the peas dissolve into a thick golden broth. The Quebec winter standard since the 17th century; sailors took it across the Atlantic in dry-pea form for two centuries.
Brought by 17th-century Norman French settlers — peas were the canonical sailing-ship protein because they keep dried indefinitely. The Quebec version uses yellow peas (vs the Western European green) because that's what was easier to grow in the colder Canadian climate. Documented as an everyday Habitant meal across rural Quebec since the 1750s.
Spoon dives into a deep golden-yellow puree, almost porridge-thick. Peas have melted into the broth; bits of carrot, celery, and chunks of smoky ham float through. First taste is salt-pork umami, then split-pea earthiness, then a vegetal background from the carrot-celery base. Savory's slightly bitter top note is the Quebec marker. A spoon of Dijon and a thick slice of butter-spread bread complete the bowl.
Split peas (vs whole) have had their seed coat removed; without it, the cell walls break down faster during simmer, releasing starch and protein into the broth. The 2-hour simmer is necessary to fully dissolve them — Whole peas would need 4+ hours. The ham hock's collagen converts to gelatin, giving the soup its body; the bone marrow adds umami depth.
Variations
Modern Montreal Anglo version drops the savory and adds thyme — closer to the French Canadian Catholic version. Acadian-Maritimes variant uses dried apple slices in the simmer for sweet-savory. Vegetarian version (rare) uses smoked paprika to mimic ham's smoke.
On the Palate
Where Soupe aux Pois sits in the Canadian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
7 steps · 25 min active + 2 hours 35 min waiting
- 1365 min
Rinse 500 g dried yellow split peas. Soak 6+ hours (or quick-soak: cover with boiling water, wait 1 hour).
- 25 min
In a heavy pot, combine drained peas, 1 ham hock (or 200 g salt pork rinsed), 8 cups water, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp dried savory, ½ tsp black pepper.
Watch outRinse the salt pork or ham hock first if it's very salty — you're seasoning from the bone, and you can't pull salt back out later.
- 3120 min
Bring to boil; reduce to low simmer. Cook uncovered 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Watch outStir now and then and watch the bottom — split peas love to sink and scorch, and a burnt note taints the whole pot.
- 432 min
Add 1 large diced onion, 2 carrots diced, 2 celery stalks diced. Simmer 30 more min.
- 55 min
Remove ham hock. Pull meat off bones, dice, return to pot. Discard bone.
- 65 min
Adjust consistency: if too thick, add water; if too thin, simmer uncovered to reduce. Add salt to taste (ham hock is salty so you may need very little).
Watch outSalt only at the very end after tasting — the ham hock has been leaching salt for two hours, so you may need almost none.
- 75 min
Serve in deep bowls with crusty bread and butter. A dollop of Dijon mustard alongside is the Quebec touch.
