Red cabbage and pork ciorbă (Romanian sour soup)

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion (150 g)
• 30 ml oil
• 250 g pork shoulder
• 1 bell pepper (150 g)
• 2 medium carrots (200 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2000 ml water
• 1 jar (500 g) red cabbage salad
• 100 ml tomato juice
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 10 g fresh parsley
• 10 g fresh dill
• 1 hot pepper

Preparation

1. Peel and wash the vegetables. Chop the onion, slice the pepper into strips and cut the carrots into rounds. Pat the meat dry with paper towels and cut it into pieces about 2 cm across. 2. In a pot, sauté the onion in the oil for 2 minutes. Add the meat and cook it with the onion for another 5 minutes, stirring. 3. Add the pepper, carrots, mustard seeds, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Pour in 2000 ml cold water and simmer over medium heat for 45 minutes, until the meat is tender. 4. Add the jarred red cabbage salad and tomato juice. Simmer for another 10 minutes. 5. Turn off the heat, sprinkle in the thyme, parsley and dill, and leave the soup to stand for 5 minutes. Serve with hot pepper.