I like easy-to-prepare dishes that don’t require complicated kitchen tools or technology but are still very delicious.
This bean-pottage is exactly like that.
Ingredients:
600 g smoked pork meat (I bought pork neck)
500 g frozen pinto beans
1/2 brown onion
2 cloves of garlic
5 tbsp vegetable oil
1-2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp sour cream (or cream fresh)
3 bay leaves
1/2 lemon zest,
1 tsp lemon juice,
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tbsp fresh parley leaves (chopped)
Salt, black pepper, sweet red paprika powder to taste
Methods:
In a pot place the whole pork neck, pour enough cold water to cover it well and start to cook (boil). From time to time refill the water. Boil the meat until tender. When it is ready, remove it from the boiling water. We use this liquid in the bean-pottage, so please, do not pour it out.
Take the beans out of the freezer and during the meat is boiling, let the beans melt out.
Peel and chop the onion finely. Peel the cloves of garlic as well.
In another pot start to heat 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil. When it is hot add the chopped onion and sauté until glossy. Add the melted beans to the onion and simmer them for 1-2 minutes. After that add the mashed garlic and pour enough smoke cooking water over it to cover it. Add the bay leaves and check the taste. Season it with black pepper and marjoram. Add the salt carefully because the smoke cooking water is salty.
Start to cook the beans until tender. From time to time pour some water to the beans to cover.
When the beans are almost tender in a pan start to heat 3 tbsp oil and than add 1-2 tbsp flour. Toast the flour until light brown (stir constantly). Take it off the heat and add the sweet red paprika powder to it. Stir again. Pour a pinch of cold water to it and stir…again.
Pour the roux to the beans and stir thoroughly. Finally add 2 tbsp sour cream to the dish (stir again) and season it with the chopped parsley leaves, the lemon zest and juice. Check is taste.
Serve the beans pottage with the sliced pork neck.
Tips:
– the roux is not necessary but in Hungary we use it a lot. You can make it with cornstarch instead of roux.
– Before you add the sour cream to the beans, equalise the temperature. It means, add 1-2 tbsp hot cooking water to the sour cream, mix them and when this mixture is lukewarm, pour it to the beans.
– Before serve remove the bay leaves.