Bean with cabbage
In a village with one of the highest altitudes in Slovakia, Lom nad Rimavicou, hardly any plant could flourish except for potatoes and cabbage. Adding beans local people have been cooking an outstanding filling soup, which was once assigned the name “Goulash of Lom” by guests from Serbian Kovačice. If the locals had had the chance to do so, they enriched the meal with smoked pork knee or ribs. They used to cook it mainly, when there were major works around or on their houses or on the fields. The soup from beans and cabbage is prepared in other villages in Horehronie, for example in Čierny Balog or in Heľpa.
Ingredients for 4 portions:
- 100 g beans (the larger sort the better)
- 200 g smoked pork knee
- 3 potatoes
- 150 g sauerkraut
- 250 ml milk
- 20 g fine flour
- 40 g skinless bacon
- 1 garlic clove
- Ground red pepper
- Ground black pepper
- Salt
Preparation:
- Cook the beans in boiling water. It is necessary for the beans to be soaked in water 12 hours prior to cooking.
- If you want the meal to be filling, add smoked pork knee or pork ribs. After the beans and meat are well cooked add potatoes cut into pieces.
- When the potatoes are well cooked add sauerkraut together with its juice and continue cooking.
- Stir the flour intensively into milk and pour the liquid into the boiled meal.
- Cut bacon, roast it till it turns rosy together with a clove of garlic cut into slices and seasoned with peppers.
- Grease the meal with bacon and garlic.
- In the end season with salt and with vinegar if desired. Smoked meat can be pulled out and cut into smaller pieces and returned into the soup.
