Bean Soup with Meat on Beef Rib Broth

Step-by-step recipe

1. Homemade bean soup is tastiest when the broth is made from fairly “mature” beef. Veal doesn't give such a remarkably full-bodied broth. The broth must include bones: ribs, marrow bones and so on. After boiling, the meat is cut off the bones and returned to the broth, and the bones are thrown away. Any meat soup is made on this principle. Soak the dried beans in advance, for at least 2-3 hours, or better overnight.
   
2. Pour 1 litre of cold water into a pot and add the washed beef ribs. If you drop meat into boiling water, the outer layer sets instantly and all the juices stay inside the meat while it cooks. That is roughly how steaks are fried: a crust has to form to keep the meat juices from running out. By the same logic, meat for a salad is better dropped into hot water, since the broth isn't needed there at all.
3. When foam forms, skim it off with a spoon or slotted spoon. Then add the roughly chopped vegetables to the broth. Just peel the onion and cut a cross in it. Peel the carrot and celery root and cut them into large pieces, or even leave them whole. Add a pinch of salt and a little pepper to the broth and, if you like, 1-2 dried hot peppers. They won't make the soup noticeably hot, only the faintest hint at the edge of perception, but they improve the aroma considerably.
   
4. Cook the broth under a lid at the gentlest simmer. It should barely bubble and never boil hard. Cooking time for the broth is up to 2 hours. There is no need to stir it often; 2-3 times during the whole cooking is enough. If you are afraid the broth will be hot, the chili peppers can be fished out and thrown away at any moment.
   
5. When the broth is ready, take the bones with meat and all the large vegetables out of it. Strain the broth and pour it back into the pot. Cut all the meat off the bones and chop it into pieces of whatever size you like; you can even put it through a meat grinder. Return the meat to the broth. Add the pre-soaked beans and the whole peeled potatoes. It is also worth sorting through the soaked beans and removing any that have been damaged by weevils.
   
6. Cook the soup at a gentle simmer, so the beans cook through without bursting and losing their shape. Beans usually take from 20 mins to 1 hour, depending heavily on the variety, so go by how done the beans are. Whole potatoes in soup take over 20 mins; they should be slightly overcooked, but not allowed to fall apart.
   
7. Take the fully cooked potatoes out of the soup, cut them into pieces and put them in a blender. Add 1-2 ladles of broth and blend the potato into a thin puree. You can add broth to make the puree very runny. Finish cooking the soup until the beans are fully done, then pour in the prepared runny potato puree.
   
8. Cook for another 4-5 mins, then season with salt and spices to taste. I like meat first courses served slightly hot, so at the very end of cooking I add 1-2 pinches of my favourite spice mix, which I make myself. It consists of coarsely ground dried sweet and hot pepper, a dried Mediterranean herb mix and granulated garlic.
   
9. Take the soup off the heat and let it stand in a warm place for 5 mins. Then ladle the bean soup with meat into bowls. Finely chop fresh dill, without the coarse stems. Sprinkle the dill over the soup and serve at once. My advice: start eating the soup when it has cooled a little and doesn't burn your tongue.
   
10. A homemade, rich bean soup with meat is a very nourishing first course. I'm not even sure a main course is needed after it; after a bowl of this soup I feel full for a long time. The soup is delicious with fresh white bread or Italian ciabatta.