Bean Soup without Potatoes with Pork Belly - Step-by-Step Recipe

Name: Bean Soup without Potatoes with Pork Belly - Step-by-Step Recipe
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 2 h
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Pork belly 300 g; Dried white beans 1 cup; Garlic 1-2 cloves; Carrot 1; Bell pepper 1; Onion 1; Ground black pepper, bay leaf, salt to taste

So, today we are making bean soup without potatoes. They say soup (soupe) is a liquid dish. Here we habitually call it “the first course”. Why “first” is, I think, clear: our way of eating assumes soup comes at the start of lunch, otherwise the starter would be the “first”. But that's just thinking out loud.

Soup, like all liquid dishes (broth, borscht, shchi, consommé and so on), is found almost all over the world. Its main feature is that it is at least half liquid, and not always water.

Pea soup, kharcho, bean soup, fish soup (ukha) are masterpieces of world cooking. I'm sure everyone knows these soups. I read somewhere that people have been cooking soup as we know it for no more than 50 centuries, although liquid dishes probably began with the appearance of sturdy fireproof cookware, most likely clay.

What matters most in a soup is the overall harmony of a dish made from many ingredients. And soup, more than any other dish, demands careful choice of ingredients. So much from the ingredients passes into the broth that it is very easy to spoil a soup with poor-quality ones.

You can always find a suitable soup recipe with photos, using only what you can buy or what is already in the fridge. The simplest recipe is vegetable soup. Add meat broth to it and you can make, for example, pork soup. And if you take a meatless bean soup and enrich it with pork, you get a great, tasty soup with pork. This bean soup is hardly a “classic” of any cuisine, whether this soup or another one, white bean soup, we cook it at home from time to time, and we like it.

More with bell peppers and beans

Ukrainian Borscht: Best the Day After!Traditional Ukrainian borscht on a rich pork and beef broth with beets, beans, cabbage and tomato. Serve the day after with sour cream and garlic buns.

Rice and Beans with Pork and VegetablesSpicy Mexican-style rice and beans with fried pork belly, carrot, bell and chili peppers, toasted coriander and herbs. A hearty main or side for grilled meat.

Bean Puree SoupEasy bean puree soup with potato, carrot and sweet red pepper. Soak the beans, simmer, blend and thin with broth for a thick, hearty soup.

Tbilisi SaladGeorgian Tbilisi salad: boiled beef, red kidney beans, bell and chili peppers, toasted walnuts, cilantro and khmeli suneli with a light wine vinegar dressing.

EnchiladaEnchilada with chicken, beans and sweet peppers, made in wheat or corn tortillas, baked with spicy tomato sauce.

Ingredients

2 servings

Pork belly 300 g
Dried white beans 1 cup
Garlic 1-2 cloves
Carrot 1
Bell pepper 1
Onion 1
Ground black pepper, bay leaf, salt to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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We will cook the bean soup without potatoes on the principle of fried-base soups, that is, the vegetables are fried first and then boiled.
Sort the beans, discarding any damaged ones, and soak them in cold water for 6 hours, or better overnight.
The pork belly is quite fatty, so fry it in a dry pan until golden brown. Try to render out as much fat as you can.
Pour 1.5 l of water into a pot, bring to a boil and cook the fried pork belly for 1 hour over very low heat.
If you like, skim the excess fat off the broth. You can do it with a spoon, or lay an ordinary paper napkin on the surface of the broth and remove it right away. The greasy film sticks to the napkin. Do this 2-3 times and you can remove all the fat from the surface.
Peel the onion and carrot and cut them into large cubes. Remove the seeds and stem from the bell pepper and cut it into pieces.
Peel the garlic cloves and crush them with the flat of a knife. Fry the vegetables and garlic until soft in the fat rendered from the pork belly.
Add the fried vegetables to the broth and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper and 1-2 bay leaves.
Add the soaked beans to the soup and keep cooking until they are completely tender. Cooking time for beans is always a thing in itself; you can never say in advance how long they will take. An important point: don't add water to the broth while the beans are cooking. I don't know why, but then the beans will cook forever.
When the beans are cooked, the soup is ready. If you like, sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.
Serve the bean soup hot