Split Pea Bacon Soup (Potage Saint-Germain)

The story goes that the recipe of “Potage Saint-Germain” was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a small town in the western suburbs of Paris, known for its royal Saint Germain Castle. In the 18TH century, this rural town became a new homebase for many Parisian bourgeois families, longing for a quieter life outside of Paris. With vast vegetable crops and pig farms, Saint-Germain-en-Laye had a strong farming tradition and hosted large farmers markets for locals to enjoy the local products – amongst which, peas and ham the most produced as well as beloved ones.

Marrying two local specialties – peas and ham – Potage Saint-Germain quickly became a popular soup to make amongst locals. But it was initially only made with fresh green peas, harvested in the Spring. So, some decided to use split peas in the Fall and Winter, in order to make and enjoy this delicious soup year round.

Nowadays, both versions of Potage Saint-Germain– made with fresh peas in the Spring and green split peas in the Fall/Winter – are French classics. As cooler days are right around the corner, today’s recipe focuses on the Winter version of Potage Saint-Germain, made with split peas, onion, carrot, celery, crispy bacon for good measure – and a dollop of crème fraiche (my own personal touch).

• 1 pound (450g) dried green split peas
• 200g bacon (4 stripes/4 ounces), cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
• 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly diced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 3-4 sprigs dried thyme
• 1.5 liter (6 cups) chicken stock
• Crème fraiche, for serving