Pasulj (Пасуљ (Pasulj))
Overview
Pasulj is the bean soup of Serbia, made with dried white beans and smoked pork. The beans are soaked overnight, brought to the boil and drained, then simmered in fresh water with smoked ribs, bacon or a ham hock, onion, carrot, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns until they are soft. Near the end, a zaprška of flour fried in lard or oil with sweet paprika is stirred in, giving the soup its brick-red colour and a light body. It is served hot with bread, often with a spoon of sour cream or a dish of ajvar on the side, and many say it tastes better the next day. A meatless version, made without the smoked pork, is cooked for the Orthodox fasting days.
History
Beans are thought to have reached the Balkans with the Ottomans, and pasulj became one of the most common dishes in Serbia, eaten above all in winter. The dish is so familiar that the saying prosto kao pasulj, simple as pasulj, means that something is very easy. Most Balkan countries have their own version, such as bob chorba in Bulgaria and grah in Bosnia and Croatia.
Main ingredients
White beans, smoked pork ribs, onion, carrot, paprika, bay leaf. The soup is built on thick smoky bean soup and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Bean soups · Pork soups · More soups from Serbia
Recipe
Method
- 15 min
Boil the beans for 5 minutes, drain and cover with 2.5 l fresh water.
- 22 h
Add the smoked meat, onion, carrot, garlic, bay and pepper and simmer for 2 hours until the beans are soft.
- 3
Take the meat off the bones and return it.
- 4
Fry the flour in the oil until golden, take it off the heat, stir in the paprika and whisk it into the soup.
- 510 min
Simmer for 10 minutes, season, add parsley and serve with sour cream.
- ✓
Serve. About 2h 45m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
