Yellow pea soup is one of the oldest dishes in French Canada, sometimes called habitant soup after the farming settlers of New France. Its ingredients tell the story: dried peas, salt pork, onions and root vegetables, all of which kept through a long winter and a long sea voyage. It was served at the start of a meal, at the sugar shack in spring and on cold days whenever a pot could be left to bubble on the back of the stove, and it remains a Quebec comfort food today, sold in cans in every supermarket and made from scratch by every grandmother.

Whole yellow peas are traditional; they hold a little of their shape and give the soup texture, while split peas melt into a smoother purée. Either way, the smoky pork gives depth and the summer savory a gentle, peppery note. Make a pot the day before a Montreal Grand Prix and it will see you through the weekend.

The soup

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) whole dried yellow peas
• 1 smoked ham hock
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil
• 2 medium yellow onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 10 cups (2.4 liters) cold water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried summer savory
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• fine salt
• 2 scallions

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