Begin by putting the bacon in a large frying pan. Let it cook slowly in the usual fashion until crisp, then drain, while you perform the following steps.

Carefully rinse the peas in a strainer, removing any small stonesor other debris that sometimes gets mixed in.

Put them and the water in a cauldron or big pot and bring to a boil. Start the timer for 1:30 h and stir the pot frequently to prevent sticking (and burning!) on the bottom.

Rinse, then scrub or peel the vegetables, as desired. Pull all the leaves off the celery and set the leaves aside. Set the potatoes aside.Cut up each of the remaining vegetables (carrots, leeks, onions, celery) and the sausage and bacon, medium to large bite sized chunks, and add them to the pot one by one.

Bring the pot to a boil again after each addition, and then turn it down to simmer.

Cut up the potatoes, and finely chop the celery leaves. At the end of the 1:30 h add the potatoes, salt and pepper to taste, bring to a boil again and then simmer for another 20 min.

Turn off the heat and stir in the celery leaves. It's good to eat immediately, but even better reheated. Can be frozen in 2-cup portions and microwaves well.