Recipe - Pasulj (Serbian Bean Soup)

1 pound Dried white beans (navy or
cannellini)
2 Onions, chopped
3 Cloves garlic, minced
3 Bay leaves
2 tablespoon Chopped parsley
2 tablespoon Tomato paste
1 lg Carrot, scraped and cut or sliced up
5 To 6 whole peppercorns
1 pound Kielbasa, thickly cut or sliced up
One half tablespoon Salt
2 tablespoon Olive oil
1 teaspoon Paprika
2 tablespoon Flour

You will need a large saucepan. Pick over the beans for bits of grit and
chaff, and rinse them twice in cold water. Put the beans in a large
saucepan and cover them with water to a depth of 1 to 2 inches. Bring the
water to a boil and then turn down the heat. Leave to simmer gently for
half an hour.

Remove the pan from the heat and pour in enough cold water to cover the
beans to a depth of 3 inches. The beans will settle on the bottom. Leave
them for a minute or two; then pour off the water and replace with fresh
water. Bring the water to a boil and then turn down the heat to simmer.

Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, parsley, tomato paste, carrot, and
peppercorns to the beans. Cook gently over very low heat for 1 One half to 2
hours, until the beans are soft. After 45 minutes of the cooking, add the
kielbasa.

Fifteen minutes before you are ready to serve, add the salt and prepare a
liaison for the soup. Heat the oil until it is smoking lightly; then
quickly stir in the paprika, followed by the flour. Mix to a thin paste.
Add this to the soup, stirring well. Simmer for 5 minutes, until the soup
is thick and rich.

Serve with plenty of bread and good red wine.

Serves 5 to 6. Time: 2 to 2 One half hours

From: THE OLD WORLD KITCHEN THE RICH TRADITION OF EUROPEAN PEASANT
COOKING by Elisabeth Luard, ISBN 0553052195

Posted by: Karin Brewer, Cooking Echo, 7/92

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini