Snert (Dutch Split Pea Soup)

1. In a large pot, bring the water, split peas, pork belly or bacon, pork chop and stock cube to the boil. Drop to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes, stirring now and then and skimming off any foam.
2. Lift out the pork chop, take the meat off the bone, slice it thinly and set aside.
3. Add the celery, carrots, potato, onion, leek and celeriac. Bring back to the boil, then simmer uncovered for another 30 minutes, topping up with a little water if anything begins to catch.
4. Add the smoked sausage for the final 15 minutes. Once the vegetables are tender, remove the bacon and sausage, slice thinly and set aside.
5. For a smoother soup, blend it with a stick blender. Season with salt and pepper, return the meat to the pot, and hold back a few slices of rookworst.
6. Ladle into warmed bowls and finish with the reserved rookworst and a little chopped celery leaf.

Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen

• Keep the split peas at a steady simmer until they break apart. They are what thickens the soup, so no flour or cream is needed.
• Skim the foam off in the first half hour and you will end up with a cleaner-tasting pot.
• Drop the smoked sausage in towards the end so it stays plump rather than drying out.
• Cook it a day in advance if you can. Snert sets and deepens overnight, which is exactly how the Dutch like it.