**Ardeal Cabbage Soup with Smoked Pork** This hearty soup, pronounced ‘looshcosh’ in Romanian, hails from Ardeal (a region of Transylvanian Romania) and probably comes from the Hungarian soup called lucskos kaposzta.

Ingredients

• 200-300g of smoked pork of some variety
• ½ a medium white cabbage
• 2 medium onions
• 1 carrot
• 2-3 serving spoons of tomato bullion/thick passata (or a smaller amount of concentrate)
• About 2 tablespoons of oil, porkfat or butter
• 700ml of water
• Two large pinches of dried thyme (or a chopped up sprig of fresh if available)
• Dill or parsley for garnish
• Salt and pepper for seasoning

---

Instructions

1. Peel the onions, cut them in half, and slice them thinly. Melt or heat the oil/fat
   /butter in a large saucepan and add the onions and sauté them gently over a
   medium heat for a minute or two.

2. Cut the pork into largish chunks and add them to the onions. Continue to cook
   over a medium heat for about 5-6 minutes, stirring regularly.

3. Grate or finely chop the carrot and add it to the pan, stir it in, give it another
   couple of minutes.

4. Meanwhile, shred the cabbage and put it on top of the mixture already in the pan,
   put on the lid, turn the temperature down, and leave to stew for about half an hour.
   At first, it might seem like a lot of cabbage, but it will wilt down to about half its size.
   From time to time give it all a good mix and make sure nothing sticks to the bottom
   of the pan (it shouldn’t if the temperature is low).

5. Once the cabbage has wilted down and has turned a slightly translucent yellowy
   colour, pour in the water, add the bullion, the thyme, stir well, bring it to the boil, turn
   the heat right down, and leave on a low heat uncovered for at least 30-40 minutes,
   an hour if you can.

6. If the soup looks watery, or you prefer it thicker and more ‘sloppy’, you can add a
   ‘rentas’, which is basically a kind of roux made from flour and pork fat, sometimes
   with finely chopped onion or garlic added.

7. When done, season it to taste, dish it out, sprinkle with green stuff (dill or parsley
   seem most popular), and serve with some nice crusty bread, smantana (sour
   cream), and/or hot peppers.

---

This Recipe Is Published Here.

bon appetit