Robyn’s Split Pea Soup With Flanken Style Short Ribs

I grew up around both my maternal and paternal grandmothers. I was also blessed with my maternal great grandmother for the first 19 years of my life. Because of these women, I have such wonderful memories of family gatherings that revolved around our culture of showing love with food.  Plus, I have a recipe stash that could choke a horse. One of my favorite old world recipes is split pea soup with flanken instead of ham. Any time I mention flanken to someone, they tilt their head and say, “What the heck is flanken?”   Flanken are short ribs cut across the bone and each piece has three to four short sections of bone with a generous portion of meat around them. You’re probably more familiar with English style short ribs, which are cut parallel to the bone, with one bone per piece.  This is another one of those recipes that comforts the soul.     Robyn’s Split Pea Soup With Flanken Short Ribs  (Serves 6 to 8)   Ingredients 2 pounds of flanken (Short ribs cut across the bone) Salt Pepper 1 tablespoon garlic powder Olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a medium soup pot) 1 medium onion, sliced thin 3 large carrots cut into 1 inch discs 1 pound bag dried split peas 9 cups of chicken broth or stock 1 tablespoon dried dill   Instructions   Salt & pepper both sides of the flanken Add enough olive oil to coat bottom of soup pot on medium high heat After the pot gets hot, lay each piece of flanken in the pot, add garlic powder, and sear it for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove flanken from the pot onto a plate and set aside. Add the sliced onions and the cut carrots to the pot and occasionally stir them around until you lift the brown bits from the meat off the bottom of the pot. That will take about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the split peas to the pot and stir them until they are coated with all the juices. Add the 9 cups of chicken broth  and dried dill to the pot and stir the contents. Bring the pot to a boil.  After it comes to a boil, add the flanken back into the pot, and lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot, stirring it every 15 minutes. It should take about an hour before the peas split. The soup should be thick and ready to eat. Taste for seasoning.  Sometimes it might take a few more minutes for the soup to thicken. Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Put the flanken on  a separate plate and cut it up. I usually put the cut pieces into my soup and eat it that way. My mother eats it out of the soup bowl with a little horseradish.