North Croatian Green Peas Soup Food

NORTH CROATIAN CREAMY VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• Finely mince onion and sauté it on butter until translucent.
• In the meantime, cut and mince all vegetables into small pieces and put into sautéed onion.
• Add all beef stock, season with salt and pepper and cook 40 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
• Blend all vegetables with blender or stick blender into creamy liquid. Add thyme and nutmeg and cook 10-15 minutes.
• Add sour cream before serving. Serve hot with croutons.

NORTH CROATIAN GREEN PEAS SOUP

Steps:

• Clean the green peas and put it into hot water for 5 minutes. Grate of slice carrot and sauté on butter; after a while, mince onion and sauté both on butter until onion is translucent.
• Add finely sliced pancetta and sauté not more than 5 minutes. Add flour and fry about 2 minutes, than add cold water and make creamy liquid (like sauce veloute).
• Cut green parts of spring onion, mince parsley and celery leaves and add into pot. Add green pea and about 1 liter of beef stock. Add salt and pepper.
• Cook until green peas are soft. When soft, remove green pea and blend it into puree (leave 1/6 of peas untouched). You can blend it with stick blender so you do not have to remove geen pea. Add thyme and cook 15 minutes.
• At the end add sour cream and minced chive. Serve with croutons.

NORTH CROATIAN GREEN PEAS STEW ("GRASAK CUSPAJZ")

Steps:

• Melt butter in a pot and add flour. Fry it until becoming brownish than add water and make creamy liquid.
• Add some water and when boils add all green peas, parsley leaves, salt, and thyme.
• Add water just to cover peas and cook abut 30 minutes or peas become soft.

A GREEN PEAS SOUP, WITHOUT MEAT

Steps:

• 1. Put 8 cups of the peas and 4 cups of the water in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the salt, pepper, mace, cloves, thyme, and marjoram, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for about 45 minutes, until the peas are very tender.
• 2. Drain the peas, reserving the cooking liquid in the sauceupan. Puree the peas in a food processor or with a food mill. If using a food mill, discard the skins. Press the puree through a sieve into the reserved liquid, stirring to combine thoroughly. Cover and set aside to keep warm.
• 3. Combine the remaining 2 cups of peas with the remaining 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until the peas are just tender.
• 4. While the second batch of peas is cooking, melt the butter in a sauté pan. Add the green onions, and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and mint and stir together, cooking until the spinach has just wilted. Blend in the flour, and cook for about 1 minute.
• 5. Drain the peas, reserving the cooking liquid, and stir the peas into the warm soup along with the spinach mixture. Heat until it begins to simmer, adding the reserved pea-cooking liquid-a little at a time-if the soup is too thick. Season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
• 6. Pour the soup into a tureen, and garnish with diced toast and shredded calendula blossoms, if desired.

CROATIAN KALE (SAVOY CABBAGE) STEW (KELJ CUSPAJZ)

Steps:

• Wash the savoy cabbage and cut it in 1 inch pieces.
• Preheat the water and when it boils put the savoy cabbage in it and leave it boil for one minute.
• During this operation prepare this: put lard in a pot, heat it and add finely sliced garlic and bacon (pancetta), brown flour in lard (but not too brown).
• Add ground paprika and just few drops of cold water to make "zafrig" (a kind of "sauce veloutè").
• Take out savoy cabbage with hollow spoon, add sliced potato in small cubes and water you have cooked kale in it.
• Season with salt and pepper and cook until potato is soft (10-20 minutes).
• Serve as a side dish to steaks, sausages, dried smoked ham etc.

NORTH CROATIAN CUCUMBER STEW ("CUSPAJZ OD KRASTAVACA")

Steps:

• Peel the cucumbers and cut them as for salad. Salt it and put aside for 10 minutes.
• Melt lard and add finely minced garlic and flour and sauté it until flour become brownish. Add paprika and stir well. Add cold water and make creamy liquid.
• Squeeze cucumbers with hand to extract bitter liquid and add cucumbers into the pot. Add vinegar, salt and pepper and cover with water.
• Cook not more than 30 minutes. Before serving add sour cream and stir.

NORTH CROATIAN BEANS SOUP

Steps:

• After soaking beans overnight, cook beans until soft. Drain the beans and put aside two teaspoons of whole beans.
• Make puree out of all other beans using blender (or whatever you use). Finely mince onion, garlic and bacon.
• Melt lard in a cooking pot and sauté onion until translucent. Add garlic and bacon and sauté it not more than 2 minutes.
• Add flour and brown it but not too much. Add cold water and make creamy liquid.
• Add hot and sweet paprika and stir.
• Add beans puree and whole beans, stir. Add bay leaf and vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Add water and cook about 45 minutes.
• Before serving taste the soup, if it is not sour you may drop few drops of vinegar (if you do cook for more 5 minutes). Add sour cream and parsley leaves and serve.

NORTH CROATIAN GOULASH SOUP ("GULAS JUHA")

Steps:

• Melt lard and sauté finely minced onion until become soft and transparent. Cut kohlrabi and carrot into small cubes and saute until slightely softens.
• Slice beef into small (1 cm in diameter) pieces and add into the pot. Sauté beef in its own juices and after 5 to 10 minutes add red paprika (hot and sweet) salt and pepper. Stir well and add flour.
• Sauté everything until flour starts to brown and add water (it is on you to decide to use all water or not). Add thyme.
• Peel potato and cut into small pieces (1 cm in diameter) and add into the soup. Cook until potato and meat are soft or 90 minutes.