COPPERGrey peas and ham recipe
Latvia's Christmas plate of large grey peas tossed hot with slowly rendered fatty bacon and golden onions, eaten with a glass of kefir.
Ingredients
- 500 g grey peas
- 200 g fatty smoked bacon
- 2 onions
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 500 ml kefir
How to make Grey peas and ham
- Soak 500 g of dried grey peas in plenty of cold water overnight, at least 12 hours.
- Drain, cover with fresh unsalted water and simmer gently 45 to 60 minutes until tender. Keep the water barely moving; a hard boil bursts the skins and the dish turns to mush.
- Dice 200 g of fatty smoked bacon and fry it slowly in a dry pan for 8 to 10 minutes until the fat has rendered and the cracklings are golden.
- Add 2 chopped onions to the bacon fat and fry 5 to 7 minutes until deep golden and sweet.
- Drain the peas well, tip them into the pan with the bacon, the rendered fat and the onions, season with 1 tsp of salt and black pepper, and stir 2 minutes over low heat.
- Serve hot on a plate, not in a bowl of broth, with a glass of cold kefir or sour milk alongside.
What is Grey peas and ham?
Grey peas and ham is a traditional dish from Latvia, simmered in one pot, and takes about 13 hours and 20 minutes from start to finish. It is built around grey peas, kefir and fatty smoked bacon. The recipe below uses 6 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Grey peas and ham take?
At 800 minutes it is slower than 84% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. The method runs to 6 steps, the longest being 60 minutes.
Any tips for making Grey peas and ham?
Simmer the soaked peas in unsalted water that barely moves; a hard boil bursts the skins and the dish turns to mush.
How Grey peas and ham compares
Hard to find elsewhere: grey peas (1), fatty smoked bacon (1) and kefir (3).
Cooked with the same thing elsewhere
Other traditional dishes built on kefir, from other countries.
- Kama 🇪🇪 Estonia
- Saltibarsciai 🇱🇹 Lithuania
Copper documents Latvia alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.