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Ciorbă de fasole verde
Green bean soup
Ciorbă de fasole verde: Transylvanian green bean soup with sour cream and dill
High summer in Transylvania means green beans by the basketful, and both Romanian and Hungarian households around Cluj and Târgu Mureș turn them into this pale, creamy, sour soup, which Hungarian cooks call tejfölös zöldbableves. Beans, potato and a little pepper simmer in a light tomato broth that is soured with vinegar, then finished off the heat with sour cream and a fistful of dill, so every spoonful is tangy, silky and fresh. Serve it hot for lunch with good bread, or with mămăligă for a thicker meal. The classic mistake is tipping cold sour cream straight into the boiling pot, where it curdles into flecks; temper it with hot broth first. Chef's tip: add the vinegar gradually and taste, as the soup should be bright but not sharp.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 carrotdiced
- 1 red pepperdiced
- 1 ⅛ lb green beanstrimmed and cut into 3 cm pieces
- 2 potatoesdiced
- ¾ cup tomato passata
- 6 ¼ cups water
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 5 ½ oz sour cream
- 3 tbsp dillchopped
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsleychopped
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a large pan over a medium heat and soften the 1 onion, 1 carrot and 1 red pepper for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
5 minStep 3: Add the 1 ⅛ lb green beans and ¾ cup tomato passata and simmer for 12–15 minutes, until the beans are tender but still bright green and the potato is soft.
14 minStep 4: Stir in half the 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, taste, and add the rest of the 1 tbsp white wine vinegar if you want it sharper.
1 minStep 5: Take the pan off the heat. Whisk the 5 ½ oz sour cream in a bowl with a ladle of hot broth until smooth, then stir it back into the soup; it should turn pale and creamy without curdling.
2 minStep 6: Stir in the 3 tbsp dill and 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley and serve hot.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 22 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ciorbă de fasole verde take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of carrot?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
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