Romanian bean ciorbă with smoked pork belly

Name: Romanian bean ciorbă with smoked pork belly
Ingredients: 500 g very small dried beans; 7500 ml water for boiling the beans; 15 ml oil; 300 g smoked pork belly; 1 large carrot (150 g); 1 large parsnip (150 g); 100 g green onion; 1 teaspoon hot pepper jam; 3000 ml water for the soup; 1 teaspoon salt; 15 g dill

Soups - Romanian bean ciorbă with smoked pork belly by Amelia B. - Recipia

Romanian bean ciorbă with smoked pork belly starts with small beans simmered in two changes of water. Grated carrot and parsnip soften with green onion, and the broth takes on a smoky flavor before being finished with dill. I was glad to find pork belly that looked like the home-smoked kind made when the pig is butchered; I serve it with roasted pepper. Prep: 20 minutes. Cook: 123 minutes. Total time: 143 minutes. Serves: 6. Approximately 580 kcal and 24 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

500 g very small dried beans
7500 ml water for boiling the beans
15 ml oil
300 g smoked pork belly
1 large carrot (150 g)
1 large parsnip (150 g)
100 g green onion
1 teaspoon hot pepper jam
3000 ml water for the soup
1 teaspoon salt
15 g dill

Preparation

1. Put the beans in 2500 ml water and boil for a total of 75 minutes, changing the water twice for 2500 ml fresh water each time. The beans should be tender when done; drain them. 2. Peel the carrot and parsnip, wash them and grate them on the fine side of a grater. Chop the green onion and dill. Cut the smoked pork belly into small pieces. 3. Heat the oil in a pot and brown the pork belly for 8 minutes, stirring, until colored. Transfer it to a plate. 4. In the same pot, using the fat left behind, sauté the carrot, parsnip and green onion for 10 minutes, until softened. Add the hot pepper jam and stir. 5. Pour in 3000 ml water and bring to a boil in about 10 minutes. Add the cooked beans and browned pork belly to the pot, add the salt and simmer for 20 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the chopped dill.

Notes

Serve the soup with roasted pepper on the side, without any other additions. It keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days; once cooled, the beans thicken the broth, so you can thin it with a little water when reheating. Choose pork belly with streaks of meat between the fat, and if it releases a lot of fat into the pot, remove some before adding the vegetables. The smoked meat can make the soup salty, so I adjust the salt only after everything has cooked together. You can replace the hot pepper jam with 1 teaspoon hot pepper paste, though the soup will be less sweet. Add the dill after taking the pot off the heat so it keeps its fresh flavor.