If you ask people here in Germany about this dish – a delicious Stew with Peas, Potatoes & Pork (aka. Kasseler) – you will probably get the same answer everywhere: a classic German dish my grandma liked a lot! Well… this type of stew is actually not exclusive to Germany. Many other countries have similar stews and some of them exist much longer than our version here ;) Well… doesn’t matter, actually. It’s the deliciousness and great flavors that count ;P
I have to admit I was not a huge fan of peas when I was a kid – neither in soup nor in a stew. The green stuff is never really appealing when you are a kid, right? Possibly too healthy and that can’t be good, right? ;P Today – completely different. The greener, the better! Give me some delicious stew and I am happy!
Cooking with peas can be tricky sometimes. If you overcook them they look gray and get mushy. Nobody wants that. In winter, you can get similar stews on Christmas markets here in Germany and due to their cooking time and the time the stews are kept hot, you can see that happen a lot. Instead of a nice stew where you can recognize the individual veggies you often get a mushy and gray “something” served in bowls. Well… ;)
I really love me some stew with veggies and everything with legumes. Peas, lentils, beans… there are so many great dishes you can cook. You can find many recipes for that already here on the blog.
This pea stew, as I mentioned at the beginning, is a “typically German” stew, like the one you might get served by your German grandma at home. A lot of peas, potatoes, and (if you are lucky) some meat as well. Here in Germany, we like to use Kasseler – that’s a type of cured meat that works perfectly in stews. If you can’t find it where you live you can make this stew with bacon only. Equally delicious!
If you want to get rid of dairy and meat completely you can do that as well. Leave out the bacon and meat and use a more intense veggie broth instead. That will help to intensify the flavors. We sometimes do that when we are not in the mood for meat ;P
By the way, I always use unpeeled peas for my stew. You normally get them both ways in supermarkets here. Even though both would work here, the unpeeled keep their shape and color much better. If you want your stew to be ticker and more soupy and creamy I recommend using peeled peas.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4-5 servings)
9 oz. (250g) dried green peas
some oil for frying
3.5 oz. (100g) bacon, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 small parsley root, sliced
1 piece of knob celery, diced
1/2 leek, in rings
50 fl. oz. (1 1/2 l) vegetable broth
2 tsp. dried marjoram
salt, pepper
12.4 oz. (350g) potatoes, peeled and diced
17.6 oz. (500g) cured pork (Kasseler), in bite-sized pieces
some chili flakes
some white wine vinegar
(4-5 Portionen)
250g getrocknete grüne Erbsen (ungeschält)
etwas Öl zum Anbraten
100g Speck, gewürfelt
1 rote Zwiebel, gewürfelt
2 Karotten, in Scheiben
1 kleine Petersilienwurzel, in Scheiben
1 Stück Knollensellerie, in Würfeln
1/2 Lauch, in Ringen
1 1/2 l Gemüsebrühe
2 TL Majoran
Salz, Pfeffer
350g Kartoffeln, geschält und gewürfelt
500g Kasseler, in mundgerechten Stücken
einige Chiliflocken
etwas Weißweinessig
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Soak the peas overnight (min. 12 hours) in plenty of water. The next day, pour them into a sieve, rinse them once, and then drain them.
2. Dice the bacon. Peel and finely dice the onion. Peel and slice the carrots and parsley root. Peel/clean the knob celery and cut it into small cubes. Wash the leek thoroughly and cut it into rings. Set everything aside.
3. Add some oil and the bacon to a large pot and heat up. Fry the bacon until crispy. Add the onion and sauté briefly. Add the carrots, parsley root, knob celery, leek, and drained peas to the pot and sauté everything for a few minutes. Deglaze with the veggie stock, add the marjoram, and season with salt and pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat slightly and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. Peel and dice the potatoes. Cut cured pork into bite-sized pieces. Add the potatoes to the pot after 30 minutes of cooking time. Stir every now and then. About 10 minutes later, add the pork loin to the pot as well and let everything simmer for another 15 minutes. The peas should have cooked for about 55-60 minutes in total. Season the stew with more salt, pepper, chili flakes, and vinegar to your liking before serving.
1. Die Erbsen über Nacht (min. 12 Stunden) in reichlich Wasser einweichen lassen. Am nächsten Tag in ein Sieb schütten, einmal kurz abspülen und dann abtropfen lassen.
2. Den Speck würfeln. Die Zwiebel schälen und fein würfeln. Die Karotten und die Petersilienwurzel schälen und in Scheiben schneiden. Knollensellerie schälen/säubern und dann in kleine Würfel schneiden. Lauch gründlich waschen und dann in Ringe schneiden. Alles zur Seite stellen.
3. Etwas Öl und den Speck in einen großen Topf geben und erhitzen. Den Speck auslassen und so lange anbraten, bis er etwas Farbe bekommen hat. Die Zwiebel dazugeben und kurz mit anbraten. Karotten, Petersilienwurzel, Knollensellerie, Lauch und die abgetropften Erbsen mit in den Topf geben und alles einige Minuten anbraten. Mit der Gemüsebrühe ablöschen, Majoran dazugeben und mit einer guten Portion Salz und Pfeffer würzen. Alles einmal aufkochen lassen, dann die Hitzezufuhr etwas reduzieren und für etwa 30 Minuten köcheln lassen.
4. Die Kartoffeln schälen und würfeln. Das Kasseler in mundgerechte Stücke schneiden. Die Kartoffeln nach den 30 Minuten mit in den Topf geben. Immer wieder mal umrühren. Etwa 10 Minuten später das Kasseler ebenfalls in den Topf geben und alles weitere 15 Minuten köcheln lassen. Die Erbsen sollten insgesamt etwa 55-60 Minuten gekocht haben. Den Eintopf vor dem Servieren nach Belieben noch mit Salz, Pfeffer, Chiliflocken und Essig würzen.
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Classic German Stew with Peas, Potato & Cured Pork
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 01:10
- Total Time: 14:00
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Stew
- Cuisine: Germany
Description
A classic German dish for fall and winter: a stew with loads of peas, potatoes, and cured pork aka. Kasseler. Flavorful, rustic, and super delicious!
Ingredients
9 oz. (250g) dried green peas
some oil for frying
3.5 oz. (100g) bacon, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 small parsley root, sliced
1 piece of knob celery, diced
1/2 leek, in rings
50 fl. oz. (1 1/2 l) vegetable broth
2 tsp. dried marjoram
salt, pepper
12.4 oz. (350g) potatoes, peeled and diced
17.6 oz. (500g) cured pork (Kasseler), in bite-sized pieces
some chili flakes
some white wine vinegar
Instructions
1. Soak the peas overnight (min. 12 hours) in plenty of water. The next day, pour them into a sieve, rinse them once, and then drain them.
2. Dice the bacon. Peel and finely dice the onion. Peel and slice the carrots and parsley root. Peel/clean the knob celery and cut it into small cubes. Wash the leek thoroughly and cut it into rings. Set everything aside.
3. Add some oil and the bacon to a large pot and heat up. Fry the bacon until crispy. Add the onion and sauté briefly. Add the carrots, parsley root, knob celery, leek, and drained peas to the pot and sauté everything for a few minutes. Deglaze with the veggie stock, add the marjoram, and season with salt and pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat slightly and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. Peel and dice the potatoes. Cut cured pork into bite-sized pieces. Add the potatoes to the pot after 30 minutes of cooking time. Stir every now and then. About 10 minutes later, add the pork loin to the pot as well and let everything simmer for another 15 minutes. The peas should have cooked for about 55-60 minutes in total. Season the stew with more salt, pepper, chili flakes, and vinegar to your liking before serving.
Notes
Enjoy cooking!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
