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Pasulj Recipe

5 from 2 votes
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Pasulj in a bowl - a white or brown bean soup with ham bone and vegetables
Pasulj Recipe

Tis the season for soup! And there is nothing I like better than a soup that you use a ham bone in for flavor. Which I didn’t have at the time, but after a Christmas ham, this will be a soup

I will make.

From Wikipedia:

Pasulj or Grah is a white or brown bean soup, considered a traditional dish of Serbia, though it is nowadays popular throughout many Balkan nations. It is normally prepared with meat — ideally smoked meat. This can be smoked bacon or a smoked sausage, as well as smoked joints of tough meat, such as ham hocks, pigs feet or ribs.

Pasulj ingredients in a wooden board

Ingredients Needed:

Ham bone with some meat on or 10-12 slices of pancetta
2 cups of Romano beans
2 tbsp vegetable stock seasoning
carrots
2 russet potatoes
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
one green pepper
1/4 cup of olive oil
flour

Soak your beans overnight in a bowl of boiled then cooled water.

Pasulj ingredients in a wooden board with the beans soaked in a bowl of boiled then cooled waterOk. Have a little pity on me, this recipe was done from word of mouth and email advice, so bear with me. However, this is the tried and true Serbian recipe of two of our friends, so any authenticity issues are going to have to be taken up with them.

some slices of pancetta in wooden board for Pasulj

I repeat: I have no idea what I am doing. I just did what I was told.

H’ok. Dice up your pancetta and your onion and fry them up together in a pan on medium heat.

diced up pancetta and inions ready for frying

While that is going on, decide: stove top or crockpot? Both work equally well. Whichever you decide, add 8 cups of water to the pot and mix in 2 tbsp of the vegetable stock.

When the pancetta and onions are almost done, throw in the garlic and let it sizzle for a few moments. Add the pancetta, onions and garlic from the pan into your soup pot.

Ok, I lied, the potatoes are completely my addition to the recipe. I love potatoes in soup and russets give such a creamy texture to soups that I couldn’t resist.Peel and chop the potatoes and carrots up and get them into the pot as well.

Peeled and chopped potatoes in wood board for Pasulj

Core and slice the green pepper into four and add to the pot as well. This is just for flavor, you remove it at the end of the cooking time.

green pepper in a wood board sliced into 4

Add in your drained two cups of beans that have soaked overnight.

For stove top this takes about 90 minutes and for the crockpot a good 4 hours on high. When you are ready to serve, take the 1/4 cup of oil and mix in as much flour as you can, until it’s crumbly almost. Then add a teensy bit more oil to smooth it out and whisk the mixture into the pot to thicken.

Enjoy!

Pasulj in a large bowl with romano beans scattered around

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Pasulj

Traditional Serbian bean soup.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
2 hours
Total Time
2 hours 15 minutes
Courses
Appetizer, lunch
Cuisine
Soup
Servings
6
Calories
305
Author
Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients
 

  • 10-12 slices of pancetta or Ham bone with some meat on
  • 2 cups Romano beans
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable stock seasoning
  • 6 carrots
  • 2 russet potatoes
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup flour

Instructions
 

  • Soak your beans overnight in a bowl of boiled then cooled water.
  • Dice up your pancetta and your onion and fry them up together in a pan on medium heat. 
  • While that is going on, decide: stove top or crockpot? Both work equally well. Whichever you decide, add 8 cups of water to the pot and mix in 2 tbsp of the vegetable stock. 
  • When the pancetta and onions are almost done, throw in the garlic and let it sizzle for a few moments. 
  • Add the pancetta, onions and garlic from the pan into your soup pot. 
  • Peel and chop the potatoes and carrots up and get them into the pot as well. 
  • Core and slice the green pepper into four and add to the pot as well. This is just for flavor, you remove it at the end of the cooking time. 
  • Add in your drained two cups of beans that have soaked overnight. For stove top this takes about 90 minutes and for the crockpot a good 4 hours on high. 
  • When you are ready to serve, take the 1/4 cup of oil and mix in as much flour as you can, until it's crumbly almost. Then add a teensy bit more oil to smooth it out and whisk the mixture into the pot to thicken.

Recipe Notes

Nutritional values may vary.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 305kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 15mg, Sodium: 1039mg, Potassium: 603mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 10330IU, Vitamin C: 25.6mg, Calcium: 38mg, Iron: 1.3mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

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Site Index Beans Ham Soup

Reader Interactions

Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. Griffa says

    While the recipe looks delicious, it’s not Serbian pasulj. My mom’s side of the family is Serbian, my dad’s is Croatian. No pasulj contains potatoes. Grasak does, but that has peas in it. Not the white beans.

  2. Karen Trifunovic says

    Hi, I live in England, my husband is a British Serb, my Mother-in-Law Ljubica showed me how to make the soup 25 years ago – she used a ham bone or pork ribs to flavour the soup and she always used dried Rose Coco beans with conchiglietti stirred in for the last 10 minutes (not potato) . My whole family loved it!

  3. Laura says

    This looks delicious – but what are Romano beans?  What other beans can be used?

  4. A Canadian Foodie says

    To our palate, a ham bone… to their palate – that is messing with perfection! There is always the “friendly banter” about whose is the best amongst them all!
    🙂
    Valerie

  5. Karlynn says

    I thought I had read that one of you two was Serbian, now I know which one! Friends of ours are both Serbian and he makes this soup regularly, a favorite from his childhood.

    I think I would love it with a ham bone, like a split pea but with beans…mmm..it lends itself to adding other ingredients so well! Like the potatoes I threw in.

  6. A Canadian Foodie says

    PS – about magpies… and I should have known better… I already wrote about them last winter (Canadian Freezer) but just two days ago had some steak outside in a sealed package from the store (freezer was full and it was for dinner the next day). I went to get it, and two were missing. YES. Litte beak marks on the package. They stop at NOTHING. 🙂 🙂 🙂

  7. A Canadian Foodie says

    My heart is racing (oh, I am so easily thrilled!!!) How do you know this soup? Invite us when you make it next – better yet, teach me how. Ok OK I will try it myself first. That is why you wrote such gorgeous and detailed post after all…. but, you may or may not know from reading my posts on occasion… that my husband is Serbian and this is his favourite soup!! If you know the food of the culture. I just posted my burek and homemade phyllo recipe last week.
    🙂
    Love your site and just found the subscribe my e-mail button today – so I AM IN!
    🙂
    Valerie

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