Transylvanian Smoked Meat Soup

This week’s recipe is the Transylvanian soup with smoked meat, which has two versions, one with potatoes, one with cabbage. Its little secret is that of blanching the meat before using it in the soup, because, no matter what kind of smoked preparation we use, boiling it takes away part of its salt.

Ștefan Baciu, 08.02.2015, 14:11

This week’s recipe is the Transylvanian soup with smoked meat, which has two versions, one with potatoes, one with cabbage. Its little secret is that of blanching the meat before using it in the soup, because, no matter what kind of smoked preparation we use, boiling it takes away part of its salt.

For this recipe, take half a kg of smoked ribs, a few potatoes, two onions, two carrots, one piece of celery root, a parsnip, tarragon, vinegar, egg, and sour cream. Shred the smoked rib, and set it to boil, skimming the pot periodically. Add the potatoes, cubed, then the chopped onion, carrot, parsnip and celeriac. At the end put in tomato juice, the finely chopped tarragon, then, at the end, mix separately egg yolk with sour cream to finish the soup.

If, however, you opt for the sauerkraut solution, then finely shred it and wash it to make it less salty. Use the sauerkraut liquid as a souring agent. You can use less vegetables, but the minimum is two chopped onions and a few garlic cloves. Separately, brown two tablespoons of flour, then add some water, and after it comes to a boil, pour it into the soup pot. Towards the end add the chopped garlic and either use the egg yolk-sour cream mixture or some buttermilk. Enjoy!