Name: Split Pea Soup with Ham or Bacon and Carrots
Ingredients: ½ cup minced ham (preferably prosciutto or other dry-cured ham) or minced bacon; 2 Tbsp olive oil; 1 medium onion, minced; 2 cups green split peas, washed and picked over; ½ cup rice or 1 medium potato, peeled and quartered; 6 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, or water, plus more if necessary; 3 or 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch sections; salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; croutons

Why it works: Rice and chicken are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,769 recipes. Both carry (e,e)-2,4-decadienal, which smells fatty, deep fried. The science ↓

Split Pea Soup with Ham or Bacon and Carrots

Time45 minutes to 1 hour

Ingredients

½ cup minced ham (preferably prosciutto or other dry-cured ham) or minced bacon
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 cups green split peas, washed and picked over
½ cup rice or 1 medium potato, peeled and quartered
6 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, or water, plus more if necessary
3 or 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch sections
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
croutons

Directions

Prepare the base

Cook ham, prosciutto or bacon in olive oil until fairly crisp, then remove the meat and set it aside.
Cook minced onion in the remaining fat until softened.

Simmer the soup

Combine split peas and stock or water in a large saucepan or casserole and bring to a boil over medium‑high heat.
Add carrots, reduce heat to low, cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the peas are very soft, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Hold the carrots aside.
Add the carrots back, then mash or puree the mixture with a fork, potato masher, food mill, strainer, or blender.
Reheat, adding more stock or water if necessary to achieve desired consistency.

Season and serve

Season to taste and serve with ham or bacon and croutons.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1468Calories

123 gProtein

56 gFat

112 gCarbs

Counts 13 of 14 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 13 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Pork	100g cooked	242
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Ham	100g cooked	145
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

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.

Rice + chickentop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,769 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,555 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together21,601 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Olive + ricetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,994 recipes

Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Rice + carrottop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,477 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Green split peas: Break down during long simmering to thicken the soup into a body-rich purée.
Ham or bacon: Adds savory, browned fat flavor from rendering and crisping in the oil.
Olive oil: Carries heat for crisping the meat and softening the onion, and adds fat flavor.
Onion: Softened in the rendered fat to build a sweet, savory aromatic base.
Carrots: Add sweetness and color, and soften into the purée for body.
Rice or potato: Starch that helps thicken the soup as it cooks and breaks down.

The step that matters

Simmering the peas until very soft. Split peas must cook long enough to fully break down; undercooked peas stay grainy and do not thicken the purée properly. Partial covering and occasional stirring keep the soup from scorching on the bottom of the pan.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, olive, onion, rice, chicken, carrot, pepper):

Beansfits better
Black-eyed peafits better
Sesamefits better
Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, olive, onion, rice, chicken, carrot, pepper. 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.