Jókai Bableves — Smoky Bean Soup with Smoked Pork Hock, Carrots & Parsnips

Ingredients

• 1½ cups dried cranberry or pinto beans, soaked overnight
• 1 lb Smoked Pork Hock
• 2 Carrots, sliced
• 2 Parsnips, sliced
• 4 oz smoked sausage, sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 tbsp lard or oil
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Drain the beans and simmer them with the Smoked Pork Hock in 8 cups fresh water for 60 minutes, until both are tender. Skim the foam in the first 10 minutes.
2. Add the Carrots, Parsnips, and sausage and cook 20 minutes more.
3. Make a roux: cook the onion in the lard until soft, stir in the flour, and cook 2 minutes to a pale sand color. Off the heat, stir in the paprika, then whisk in a ladle of hot soup until smooth.
4. Pour the roux back into the pot and simmer 10 minutes; the soup will thicken to the consistency of thin gravy.
5. Lift out the Smoked Pork Hock, chop the meat, and return it. Season with salt, pepper, and the vinegar — the acid is what keeps a rich bean soup from tasting heavy.
6. Swirl sour cream into each bowl at the table. Bread is compulsory; the traditional pinched noodles are optional.