Romanian red bean soup with wild garlic

Ingredients

• 500 g dried red beans
• 1500 ml cold water for soaking
• 100 g leek
• 150 g parsnip
• 150 g red kapia pepper
• 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 400 g jarred soup vegetable mix
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 2000 ml still water
• 200 g strained tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 50 g wild garlic
• 15 g fresh parsley
• 1 fresh lovage leaf

Preparation

1. Pick over and rinse the beans. Soak them for 6 hours in 1500 ml cold water, then drain and discard the water. 2. Trim the leek, peel the parsnip and clean the red kapia pepper, then cut them into pieces. In a pot, sauté them in 3 tablespoons sunflower oil for 5 minutes, until softened. 3. Add the jarred soup vegetable mix, mustard seeds, bay leaf, 2000 ml water and drained beans. Simmer over medium heat for 60 minutes, until the beans are tender. 4. Add the strained tomatoes and simmer for another 10 minutes, until the raw taste of the tomatoes has mellowed. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper. 5. Turn off the heat. Add the rinsed wild garlic, cut into thin strips, and the chopped parsley and lovage. Leave the soup for 5 minutes before serving.