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Serbian Soups

Pasulj (1) 'Serbian White Bean Soup'

Ingredients
250 gr bacon cut in cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
some fresh sellery
3 onions
2 red bell peppers
2 cans white beans
3 tablespoons tomato paste
pepper, salt, spicy paprika powder

Fry the bacon cubes in a frying pan without the use of oil. Add the cut onions, bell pepper and the minced garlic, fry until everything is soft. Add the white beans (with the juice from the can) and the tomato paste. Add about 0,75 liter water and bring the soup to a boil. Let it simmer on a low fire for about 20 minutes. Then press as much as possible the white beans against the side of the pan (like squeezing). Add some fresh sellery and let the soup boil for another 10 minutes. Add pepper, salt and paprika powder to taste.

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Pasulj (2) 'Serbian White Bean Soup'

Ingredients
250 gr dried white beans
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
250 gr bacon
2 potatoes
3 carrots
sunflower oil
1 tablespoon spicy paprika powder
pepper and salt

Soak the white beans over night in cold water. Cut one onion in big pieces, clean the garlic and cut the cloves in two parts. Boil the white beans in the water they have been standing in together with the onion and garlic.
Cut the bacon and potatoes in cubes, the carrots in slices. Fry first the bacon then add potato, carrot and the rest of the onion and fry it all together for about 5 minutes. Add the spicy paprika powder and mix it well. Then add this mixture to the beans and let it all simmer on low fire till everything is cooked well. Put in some salt and pepper to taste.

Instead of salt I usually use some dried soup stock which I put in immediatly when everything goes in one pan. Here in Serbia you can buy some garlic sausage which taste nice with the soup, you can add it at the end. If you have some smoked sausage left over you can add that as well. Be carefull that the soup will not end up too salty. If it does, peel some potatoes (whole) and put them in the soup, they will take in salt which makes the soup less salty. Before serving take the whole potatoes out