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French American Pea Soup

A hearty pea soup made with bacon, carrots, onions, split peas, thyme, bay leaves, and finished with sour cream.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,563 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

French American Pea Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the base

  1. In a saucepan, cook the bacon until it's done for 15 minutes.

  2. Remove the bacon and break or chop it up coarsely.

  3. Add the carrots, onion, thyme, and bay leaves to the pan and toss to coat with pan drippings, then cook for 5 minutes.

  4. Add the split peas and cooked bacon, stir well, and cook another 5 minutes.

Simmer and serve

  1. Add 8 cups of water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer.

  2. When the peas have absorbed about half the water, add salt to taste.

  3. Continue to simmer until the peas are very soft and almost; stir and check often to ensure the bottom does not burn.

  4. Remove the bay leaves and place the soup in bowls.

  5. Garnish each with a dollop of sour cream.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

289Calories
26 gProtein
5 gFat
36 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 12 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Pea1/2 cup (72g)62
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Chives1 tbsp (3g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Saucenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Carrot + thymetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Onion + chivetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,907 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Thyme + chivetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together580 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  4. Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Onion + thymetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,171 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Split peas
Form the body of the soup as they soften and break down into a thick, creamy texture.
Bacon
Adds fat and smoky, savory flavor to the pan base and the soup.
Carrots
Add gentle sweetness and some body as they soften during simmering.
Red onion
Builds an aromatic savory base as it softens in the bacon fat.

The step that matters

Stir and check the bottom while the peas simmer. Split peas are thick and starchy, so they settle and scorch on the bottom of the pan. Stirring often keeps the soup from taking on a burnt flavor and keeps the heat even as the peas soften.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, onion, thyme, cream, sauce, chive):

  1. Chestnutfits better
  2. Lentilsfits better
  3. Beansfits better
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, onion, thyme, cream, sauce, chive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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