3 cups barley flour 3 cups bacon fat

3 quarts milk

4 quarts mashed peas

24 to 30 eggs 4 tablespoons salt 2 teaspoons pepper 1/2 cup grated onion

Soak about one and one-half quarts split peas in cold water over night; drain. Add water to come even with top of peas, bring to boil, and simmer until soft; drain, and reserve water. Put peas through puree strainer or meat chopper. Melt fat, add flour; remove from fire, add hot milk, stirring constantly until smooth. Ham or sausage fat may be used in place of bacon. Cook in double boiler thirty minutes. Add seasonings and pea pulp, and stir into well-beaten yolks. Fold in stiffly beaten whites, and bake in moderate oven one and one-half hours, or until firm. Serve at once.

A ham bone cooked with the peas gives a delicious flavor. In that case, use ham fat or unflavored meat drippings instead of bacon fat.