Romanian Bacon Soup
Warm up with Romanian bacon soup ~ this simple recipe with white beans, dill, and sour cream is our new favorite fall soup!
Servings: 8
Equipment
- Dutch oven
- immersion blender (optional)
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into small dice.
- 2 ribs celery, sliced or chopped
- 12 ounces bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 ½ cups dried white navy beans, soaked overnight in plenty of cold water.
- 7 cups chicken stock
- sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 small bunch fresh dill, chopped
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven and sauté the onion and celery for several minutes until they start to soften.
- In another skillet fry the bacon until cooked but not overly crisp. Once the onions and celery are softened, add the bacon to the Dutch oven.
- Drain your soaked beans and add them to the pot, along with the chicken stock and bay leaves. Note: you are not seasoning with salt and pepper yet. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered, for about 45 minute to an hour, or until the beans are tender.
- At this point I use my immersion blender to blend just a corner of the pot, so that the soup's broth has more body. I don't blend the whole soup, just a small portion of it. This is optional. Add the vinegar to the soup and then season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the sour cream. Note: If you are worried about the sour cream curdling, follow my tips below.
- To the soup with plenty of fresh dill and serve with a loaf of crusty bread.
Notes
To keep sour cream from curdling:
- Full-fat sour cream is less likely to curdle than low-fat versions because it contains more stabilizing agents. The higher fat content helps maintain a smooth texture.
- Avoid sudden temperature changes: temper the sour cream by mixing a small amount of the hot bacon soup liquid into the sour cream before adding it back into the pot. This helps acclimate the sour cream to the soup’s temperature, reducing the likelihood of curdling.
- Add the sour cream off the heat. Remove the soup from heat and allow it to cool slightly before stirring in the sour cream. The residual heat will be enough to warm the sour cream without curdling it.
- While adding the sour cream, stir the soup continuously. This prevents the sour cream from clumping together or curdling due to sudden temperature changes.
- Once sour cream has been added, avoid boiling the soup. High heat can cause the sour cream to curdle. Keep the soup on low heat or warm it gently before serving. Keep this in mind when reheating the soup, too.
Nutrition
Calories: 444 kcal · Carbohydrates: 32 g · Protein: 19 g · Fat: 27 g · Saturated Fat: 10 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 10 g · Trans Fat: 0.2 g · Cholesterol: 55 mg · Sodium: 624 mg · Potassium: 848 mg · Fiber: 6 g · Sugar: 5 g · Vitamin A: 289 IU · Vitamin C: 4 mg · Calcium: 67 mg · Iron: 3 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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