Day 155: Serbia and Pasulj

Good evening, Raffies!

We are back in the Netherlands and although the sun is shining, I already miss the heat and the air from Italy. Sometimes I wish things were easier..

Anyways, since we skipped lunch, we are enjoying this rich soup: Pasulj. We went to Serbia and made a delicious bean soup.

It is a traditional soup made out of beans. Ingredients and vegetables can vary greatly. You can also add some meat into your soup, if you like.

The recipe is simple:

200 g berlotti or white beans
1 large carrot, sliced
2 onions, chopped
1 stalk celery
1 bay leaf
1 chili, sliced
1 tbsp paprika powder
pepper
salt
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp flour
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
parsley for garnish

Start by soaking your beans overnight, unless you are going to use canned ones. In the latter case, you can skip the long boiling part and add the ingredients immediately.
Otherwise, bring the beans to a boil in approximately 3 litres of water and let them simmer for 1.5 hours. Add half of the onions, carrot, bay leaf, celery and chili and paprika. Let it simmer until the carrots are soft.
In a separate pan, heat up the oil. Fry the remaining onion until soft. Stir in the flour until it gets dense. Now pour it into the bean mix and stir well. Simmer for a few minutes until it becomes dense and thick.
Now adjust with salt and pepper and garnish with some parsley. Serve with bread.

It was really good and flavourful. A great dish when you haven't been eating all day and are rather tired.

Love,

Raffi