Split Pea Soup with Pancetta

zuppa di piselli spezzati

A craving for a quick, cozy soup could hit me at any time. And when that happens, I’m glad to have recipes like this one in my arsenal. This split pea soup with pancetta is super flavorful but made with only a small handful of ingredients. The key is to keep a bag of dried green split peas in your cupboard for when the mood should strike. They are definitely an underrated ingredient and provide a lovely, earthy flavor that tastes simple and vegetal. 

While this split pea soup can be warming and hearty for the fall and winter, it can also feel appropriate for spring, which is the season of fresh peas. Matching the color of all things spring, nothing makes me feel more alive and reborn after a season of blankets and hibernation like seeing pops of bright green sprouting up all around me. 

This is also the time of beautiful spring produce in Italy. This seasonably warm weather prompted an impromptu day trip to Venice, because why not? And there’s nothing better than walking into a Campo and seeing an unexpected produce stand. It’s like the United Colors of Benetton in food! Of course there are bright orange and yellow citrus but joining them are strawberries, zucchini flowers, and artichokes. Also, I spotted one of my personal favorites – asparagus, and not to mention the famous white asparagus which are grown underground without exposure to sunlight. They are most famously from the town of Bassano del Grappa in the Veneto region, but also grown all over parts of Northern Italy. 

Also walking through Venice this same day, I stumbled on a culturally significant culinary landmark. I once heard of a theater that had been turned into a grocery store, and of course was very intrigued. Every time I come to Venice, I get distracted by other beautiful things and forget to search it out. So I was surprised when I came across this stunning building – which is a frequent occurrence in Venice – and saw “Teatro Italia”.

I was struck by a row of lancet windows and the Venetian winged lion in the middle of the balustrade that runs along the roof. Intricate wrought iron over the four doors lead me to the sign on the entrance, Despar, which is a supermarket chain. It was first built in 1915 by Giovanni Sardi in a typical Venetian Gothic style with a nod to Art-Nouveau. Interior paintings, including the ceiling, were done by Venetian painter Alessandro Pomi and other local artists. First used as a theater, then as a cinema, and in 1979 used for offices by the Ca’ Foscari University until going into disuse by the 1990s. After years of restoration it was converted into a supermarket space and Despar was opened in late 2016. 

Walking through this grocery store is truly a unique experience. You can’t help but feel as if you are attending a show as you enter through the main doors and a grand set of stairs greet you that lead to what would have been the mezzanine. Winding your way through aisles of orchestra seating are instead shelves of local cheese and fresh bread. Where the stage would be is a meat counter, complete with key lighting to illuminate the best cuts.

All this walking around Venice has made me hungry and I think a bowl of split pea soup with pancetta will hit the spot. 

Split peas are simply regular green peas that have been dried and split in half.  Since they are not beans, they don’t need to be soaked overnight like if you were cooking with dried beans. This means they make for fast, last-minute soup with minimal preparation. A lot of classic split pea soup recipes have you slow-cooking them with a ham hock. While that is delicious, I don’t always have ham hocks at my disposal or have time for a slow-cook method (I feel it goes without saying that my little Italian kitchen does not have an Instapot).

However, crisping up some pancetta and adding it into my split pea soup provides the salty, smokiness it desperately wants and needs and is definitely an ingredient I have readily available in the Italian supermarket. 

They sell two varieties of pre-chopped, ready-to-use pancetta, which is a great starter for soups or pastas. There are sweet or smoked options, and I tend to alternate between buying both. Either will work for this recipe. 

Brown the pancetta in a dry pan over medium-high heat. I find you don’t need to add oil to the pan because the pancetta will render out its own fat that will coat the pan once it starts cooking. Once the pancetta is nice and golden brown, I remove it to a plate, but leave the fat in the pan.

Then, lowering the heat a tad, I add the aromatic vegetables, chopped onions, carrot, and celery. They saute right in the pancetta fat, which gives the soup a delicious flavor! Once they start sweating and the onions turn translucent, I add some minced garlic. If you add the garlic too early, it could potentially burn if it hangs out in the hot pan for too long. I also add in salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and some chopped fresh rosemary leaves, which help elevate the earthiness of the split peas.

Now I add in a few good splashes of dry white wine (I use the word “splash” because it sounds fun but try to avoid splashing when you’re dealing with a hot stove). Use a wooden spoon to scrape any crusty bits that might be stuck on the bottom of the pan leftover from cooking the pancetta. This is all excellent flavor that we want incorporated into the soup. 

I add in the peas, a bay leaf, and about 1 liter of water and bring to a boil. Vegetable broth would also work, but I wouldn’t use chicken or other meat broth because the flavor could be too overpowering. After it reaches a boil, reduce down to a simmer, cover and let cook for about 30 minutes or until the split peas are soft and tender. Take the pot off the heat and use an immersion blender to puree the soup. It can also be transferred in batches to a stand blender. The soup can be blended to a completely smooth puree or left with some peas intact, it’s up to personal preference. Ladle hot soup into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and crispy pancetta.    

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Split Pea Soup with Pancetta Recipe

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