Split pea soup: A traditional dish for Louis Riel Day
As most Canadians are about to celebrate Family Day, Manitoba will be celebrating Louis Riel Day, a day committed to honour the memory of Louis Riel, an ardent Métis leader praised for his efforts in establishing Manitoba as Canada’s fifth province, joining confederation in 1870.
Riel dreamed of a Canada that was a civilized place that embraced all cultures. Riel is recognized as an advocate of justice for the Métis people, and shaped the ideologies for minority rights and cultural cooperation in Canada. It was Riel’s ideologies that lead him to the gallows on Nov. 16, 1885 to be executed on the grounds of treason, a date that some choose to celebrate as Louis Riel Day.
In 2007 the Manitoba legislature passed a bill making the third Monday in February a statutory holiday known as Louis Riel Day, which just so happens to coincide with Winnipeg’s annual Festival Du Voyageur. This is Western Canada’s largest winter festival and it appears to be a celebration built upon Riel’s historical culturally unified vision of Canada as the histories of the French voyageurs, Métis and First Nations people are celebrated in traditional style.
The Festival Du Voyageur can be described as Canada’s largest kitchen party with countless events, one of which is its annual Pea Soup competition for which Clementine Café’s chef Chris Gama will be defending their 2017 People’s Choice title who boldly released their award winning recipe for everyone to enjoy.
Canadian-grown yellow split peas are available in most supermarkets and are great to use in the following recipe adapted from the Clementine Café’s Split Pea Soup which is perfect to serve to your family any day no matter what you are celebrating.
Split Pea Soup
Pork Stock
5 lbs pork hocks & trim
1 white onion, peeled and sliced 5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 lg carrot, peeled and sliced Soup
1 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp. butter
1 cup peeled and diced carrots 2 cups diced onion
2 cups diced leek
2 cups dried yellow split peas Pork stock (see recipe below) 1 lb of pork cheek or pork shoulder
5 slices of diced bacon
1 ½ tbsp. apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. soy sauce
Method:
Place pork bones and trim in large stock pot and cover with 1” water. Bring water to boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat and remove pork bones and trim from water. Rinse the bones well, discard water and wash the pot. This will give the stock a cleaner flavour and appearance. Add the rinsed bones and trim back to pot along with onion, carrot and garlic. Cover with 2.5” water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 6 to 8 hours. Strain through a fine sieve, discarding the bones but reserving the liquid.
Melt butter and oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Add carrots, onion, leek and bacon. Stir occasionally and cook until onions are soft and translucent. Add split peas, pork meat and stock and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours (until peas and pork are very tender). Remove pork from soup and shred with tongs. Use a potato masher to mash soup. Add the meat back into the soup and adjust the consistency of the soup with water if it’s too thick. Add apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with crusty bread and butter.