Romanian Lenten bean and lovage soup

Name: Romanian Lenten bean and lovage soup
Ingredients: 500 g dried white beans; 1 medium carrot (80 g); 3 small onions (180 g); 120 g parsnip; 100 g celeriac; 1 green gogosar pepper (150 g); 100 ml oil; 2500 ml water; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; 6 black peppercorns; 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram; 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 bay leaf; 4 tablespoons tomatoes preserved for winter; 10 g lovage

Soups - Romanian Lenten bean and lovage soup by Adina I. - Recipia

Romanian Lenten bean and lovage soup starts with beans soaked overnight, then simmered until tender. The vegetables cook whole in the same pot, and the tomatoes preserved for winter and chopped lovage go in near the end; the broth stays hearty, with beans and carrot in every bowl. I serve it with dark bread, so I have something to mop up the broth. Prep: 20 minutes. Cook: 105 minutes. Rest: 8 hours and 10 minutes. Total: 10 hours and 15 minutes. Serves: 6. Approximately 470 kcal and 20 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

500 g dried white beans
1 medium carrot (80 g)
3 small onions (180 g)
120 g parsnip
100 g celeriac
1 green gogosar pepper (150 g)
100 ml oil
2500 ml water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
4 tablespoons tomatoes preserved for winter
10 g lovage

Preparation

1. Pick over the beans, discard any damaged ones, and rinse them in 2-3 changes of water. Put them in a pot with enough water to cover and boil for 10 minutes, until they have bubbled a few times. Take the pot off the heat, cover it, and leave the beans to soak for 8 hours. 2. Drain the beans and rinse them with cold water. Peel and wash the carrot, onions, parsnip, and celeriac. Remove the seeds and stem from the gogosar pepper, then wash it. Put everything in a pot with 2000 ml water, the oil, and 1 teaspoon salt. Boil for 90 minutes, until the beans are tender. Keep 500 ml water aside to top it up as needed. 3. Take out the onions, parsnip, celeriac, and gogosar pepper; leave the carrot and beans in the pot. Add the peppercorns, marjoram, thyme, bay leaf, and tomatoes preserved for winter. Boil the soup for another 5 minutes, then leave it to cool for 10 minutes. Wash and chop the lovage, add it to the pot, and adjust the seasoning with up to 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Notes

Beans that have been stored for a long time may need more than 90 minutes to soften. Small beans usually cook faster than large ones, so check their texture before taking out the vegetables. Choose beans that are whole and unblemished, without many shriveled ones. If you can't find a green gogosar pepper, you can replace it with a green bell pepper of the same size. The broth can thicken as it sits because the beans absorb more liquid; thin it with a little hot water when reheating. The soup keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. Its texture is a little like iahnia de fasole, a Romanian bean stew, but there's still plenty of broth in the bowl. I serve it with dark or rye bread, good for mopping up the thick broth.