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Bolivian Pea Soup

A hearty soup of split peas, bacon, carrots, and onions simmered with thyme and bay leaves.

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 ↓

Bolivian Pea Soup

Timeabout 15 minutes for the bacon

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the bacon

  1. Cook the bacon in a very large, deep saucepan over medium heat until it crumbles slightly, about 15 minutes.

  2. Remove the bacon, break or chop it coarsely, and set aside.

Build the base

  1. Add the carrots, onion, thyme, and bay leaves to the pan and toss to coat with the bacon drippings.

  2. Cook for 5 minutes over medium‑high heat.

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

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

Simmer and serve

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

  2. Continue to simmer until the peas are very soft and almost all the water has been absorbed; any remaining water should be the color of the peas and thickened.

  3. Stir and check often to ensure the bottom does not burn, especially toward the end of cooking.

  4. If desired, puree part of the mixture with a hand mixer before serving.

  5. Remove the bay leaves, ladle the soup into bowls, and garnish each with a dollop of sour cream, a few splashes of hot sauce, and chives.

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

Bacon
Renders fat that flavours the vegetables and adds savoury, smoky depth.
Split peas
Break down during simmering to thicken the soup and give it body.
Carrots
Add natural sweetness and body as they soften in the bacon fat.
Red onion
Builds savoury aromatic flavour as it softens in the pan.
Water
Cooks the peas and, as it reduces, concentrates the soup's flavour and thickness.

The step that matters

Stirring near the end of simmering. Once most of the water is absorbed, the thick peas settle and scorch easily on the bottom of the pan, which can taste burnt. Stirring often and keeping the heat low prevents this.

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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