What you need:
– 50g smoked fatty ham
– little bit of olive oil
– 5 cloves of garlic
– 1 large onion
– 3 medium potatoes
– 1 paprika
– 100g long beans
– 1 glass wine
– 1 can tomatoes
– teaspoon of tomato paste
– teaspoon of dried oregano
– teaspoon of dried parsley
– teaspoon of thyme
– 1 liter fresh water (or more)
How to make:
Cut the ham in small pieces and fry over slow fire in a large pot until the fat has come out and the ham is crispy. Meanwhile cut all vegetables into small pieces. Add a little olive oil, dried herbs, garlic and onion and let it cook for a minute or two. Add beans and potatoes, cook a couple of minutes. Add tomato paste, mix well and add the glass of honest cheap wine. Cook a couple of minutes, add tomatoes and water and let the soup simmer for around half an hour. Around 5-10 minutes before the soup is ready, add cut paprika – depending how crispy do you like it. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.
You can do no wrong here: play around with the amount of ingredients, you can add carrots or celery. Honest tip: this soup tastes so much better the next day! This recipe should make enough soup for 4 semi-hungry people or for 2 really hungry ones.
How much does it cost:
Ham and wine around 1 euro each, can of tomatoes is 70 cents, tomato paste around 10 cents, a bit of olive oil not more than 20 cents. Everything else comes from a poor Estonian’s garden. Total cost: 3 euros.