Yellow pea soup with cured pork and marjoram, traditionally followed by thin Swedish pancakes (pannkakor) with whipped cream and lingonberry jam. The Thursday-lunch ritual across Sweden.

The Thursday ärtsoppa tradition dates to medieval Sweden when Friday was a fasting day, so Thursday meant a hearty meal to carry workers through. King Erik XIV reportedly died of arsenic-laced pea soup in 1577. The pannkakor dessert pairing is uniquely Swedish. Den Gyldene Freden and Pelikan still serve it as Thursday lunch.

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Make it at home

Serves 63 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 500g dried yellow split peas, soaked overnight
  • 500g lightly cured smoked pork shoulder or smoked ham hock
  • 2 large yellow onions, diced
  • 2 tsp dried marjoram
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1.5 litres water or light pork stock
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Hot Swedish mustard, to serve
  • 200g plain flour (for pancakes)
  • 500ml whole milk (for pancakes)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar (for pancakes)
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt (for pancakes)
  • 60g unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking
  • Whipped cream and lingonberry jam, to serve

Method

  1. Drain the soaked peas. Place in a heavy pot with the pork, diced onions, marjoram, ginger, bay leaves and water. Bring to a simmer; skim the surface.
  2. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes, until the peas have collapsed to a thick, savoury porridge.
  3. Lift out the pork, slice thick. Discard the bay leaves. Taste the soup; adjust salt and pepper. The texture should be thick but spoonable.
  4. While the soup simmers, make the pancakes. Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Whisk in the eggs and milk to a smooth thin batter. Stir in the melted butter. Rest 30 minutes.
  5. Heat a 22cm pan over medium-high. Brush with butter. Pour 60ml batter into the pan, swirl thin, and cook 90 seconds a side until pale gold. Stack between greaseproof paper.
  6. Serve the ärtsoppa hot in deep bowls with a slice of warm pork on top. Pass the hot Swedish mustard at the table.
  7. Follow with pannkakor: fold each pancake into quarters, top with a heaped tablespoon of whipped cream and a spoon of lingonberry jam.

Editor tip. Soak split peas overnight; un-soaked peas take 4 hours and the texture is wrong. Thursday lunch in Sweden is sacred; serve another day, expect questions.

Common allergens: Dairy, Gluten, Egg.