Snert

SnertnlErwtensoepnl

Also: Erwtensoep, Dutch split pea soup

A thick Dutch winter soup of split green peas slow-cooked with pork and root vegetables until so dense a spoon stands upright in it.

Identity criteria

1Built on dried split green peas cooked down to a thick puree, not a thin broth
2Must be thick enough that a spoon stands upright when it is ready
3Includes pork — typically smoked sausage (rookworst) plus pork belly, ham hock, or trotter
4Aromatised with celeriac, leek, and onion
5Eaten piping hot in cold weather, classically alongside ice-skating

Base

Dried split green peasessentialCooked until they break down and thicken the soup

Protein

Rookworst (smoked sausage)essentialThe signature meat, sliced into the soup

Pork belly, ham hock, or pig's trotteroptionalAdds body and smoky depth

Aromatics

Leek, onion, celeriacessentialRoot and stalk vegetables that flavour the base

Celery and carrotoptionalCommon additions

Slow simmering: Long cooking breaks the peas down into the dish's defining thick, almost solid consistency
Resting overnight: Traditionally tastes best the next day, when it thickens further and flavours meld

smokysavouryearthyrich

extremely thick, almost porridge-like puree with chunks of sausage and vegetable

A hearty Dutch winter main eaten hot during cold weather and ice-skating season, traditionally tasting best the day after cooking.

winter

With pig's trotter · Netherlands
Trotter or ham hock added for extra richness and gelatine
Friesland style · Friesland, Netherlands
Regional takes on the meat and thickness

Pork belly → Ham hockadmissible
Both deliver smoky pork depth
Split green peas → Yellow split peas or lentilsinadmissible
Changes colour and character; it is no longer the canonical green snert
Rookworst and pork → No meatinadmissible
Removes the smoky pork backbone that defines snert; becomes a generic pea soup

A Dutch national winter dish historically tied to skating season and frozen canals, where bowls were served to skaters.

Confidence: high