Bean Stew

Bean stew is a dish as simple as it is tasty. You need 3 or 4 medium sized onions, two carrots, tomato paste, dried thyme, two bay leaves, peppercorns and salt to taste. Also, use your choice of smoked meat, rib or ham.

Ștefan Baciu, 06.12.2013, 18:01

Bean stew is a dish as simple as it is tasty. You need 3 or 4 medium sized onions, two carrots, tomato paste, dried thyme, two bay leaves, peppercorns and salt to taste. Also, use your choice of smoked meat, rib or ham.

The night before cooking, set the dried beans to soak in a pot of water. The next day, change the water and start boiling the beans. Bring them to a boil, then drain the beans, change the water, bring it to a boil again, then repeat. Meanwhile, finely slice the smoked meat you use. Peel the carrots, slice them, and put them in the pot with the boiling beans alongside the smoked meat. Simmer for around 45 minutes, stirring gently in order not to crush the beans.

Separately, peel the onions, slice them julienne, and sweat them in oil, then, when they are soft, add the tomato paste. Put the mix in the boiling pot of beans, then add the bay leaves, the thyme and the peppercorns, and let the mix simmer for another 15 minutes. Add salt to taste, then, after turning the heat off, you can add some chopped green parsley, then cover and leave to rest. You can substitute sliced smoked sausage for smoked meat.

This dish is best served cold, with pickled vegetables, with red wine, at room temperature, or, if served in winter, with mulled wine. Enjoy!