Pork shank ciorbă with fresh borș

Ingredients

• 500 g bone-in pork shank
• 2000 ml water
• 2 medium carrots (160 g)
• 1 parsley root (100 g)
• 1 slice celeriac (50 g)
• 1 medium onion (150 g)
• 1 medium bell pepper (150 g)
• 3 medium tomatoes (450 g)
• 500 ml water for scalding the tomatoes
• 500 ml fresh borș
• 5 g salt
• 30 g vermicelli
• 1 egg
• 30 ml hot broth from the pot
• 10 g lovage

Preparation

1. Pat the pork shank dry with paper towels and put it in a pot with 2000 ml water. Once the water comes to a boil, simmer the meat over low heat for 30 minutes. 2. Peel the carrots, parsley root, celeriac, onion and pepper, then chop them finely. Scald the tomatoes with 500 ml boiling water for 1 minute, peel them and cut them into small cubes. 3. Add the chopped vegetables and tomatoes to the pot. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, until the vegetables soften. 4. Pour in the borș and add the salt. Simmer over low heat for another 12 minutes. 5. Add the vermicelli 3 minutes before taking the pot off the heat. Beat the egg with 30 ml hot broth, pour it into the soup while stirring gently, and cook for the remaining 3 minutes. The meat should come easily off the bone. 6. Turn off the heat, add the chopped lovage and let the soup sit covered for 5 minutes.