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Hungarian bean soup with Speck

Bean soup with smoked pork shank or hock is one of the traditional Hungarian dishes. It’s not easy to make abroad so I have to substitute the meat with gammon or bacon (seebean soup with gammon). This time I had some Kolozsvari szalonna  from Hungary which is similar to Speck and added some smoked German sausage (similar to Frankfurter) I bought in Lidl.  It tasted just as good as the traditional soup - well, my family loved it!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Cuisine: Mid&East European
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 300 g dried beans soaked overnight
  • 150 g Kolozsvari szalonna or Speck
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp chopped rosemary or dried marjoram
  • 1 Tbsp sweet paprika
  • 1 Tbsp cornflour
  • 1 Tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 litre stock vegetable or ham
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 large carrots
  • ½ celeriac
  • 1 handful parsley
  • 100 g smoked German sausage
  • 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
  • To serve: cider vinegar or sour cream

Method
 

  1. Cut the Speck into small pieces.
  2. Heat a small spoonful of oil in a large saucepan and add the Speck. Fry until it realises its fat and starts becoming crispy.
  3. Add the garlic and rosemary, stir for a few seconds, then add the paprika and cornflour. Stir to coat the speck bits, then add the tomato purée and pour in a ladleful of stock. Cook for a couple of minutes until smooth, then add the rest of the stock. Add the beans and bay leaves, then bring to the boil.
  4. Cook for 60-75 minutes over low heat, under cover until the beans are just tender.
  5. Peel the celeriac and carrots, cut them into chunks. Add these to the soup and cook for a further 30 minutes or so, until the beans are and veggies are tender.
  6. Cut the sausage into chunks and add to the soup, together with the parsley. Cook for 5 minutes.
  7. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Remove the parsley.
  8. Serve with sour cream, if liked.