Ingredients
Pulses and grain
- 250 gdried borlotti or brown beans
- 250 gpearl barley
Meat
- 500 gsmoked pork ribs
- 200 gsmoked bacon or slanina, diced
- 1smoked sausage, optional
Vegetables
- 2onions, chopped
- 2carrots, diced
- 1parsnip or parsley root
- 2potatoes, diced
- 3 clovesgarlic
- 1bay leaf
Zaprška
- 3 tbsplard or oil
- 2 tbspplain flour
- 1 tspsweet paprika
- 1onion, finely chopped
To finish
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 tspdried savory or marjoram
- 1 tbspvinegar, optional
To serve
- dark bread
Directions
- Soak the beans overnight in plenty of cold water. Soak the pearl barley separately for a few hours as well, which shortens its cooking considerably. Drain the beans, cover with fresh water, boil hard for 10 minutes and discard that water. Discarding the first bean water takes away the compounds that cause the worst digestive trouble, and it is standard practice.
- Simmer gently for about an hour. Do not salt it yet. Skim the surface in the first twenty minutes. Add the drained barley and cook a further 45 minutes. Now add the carrots, parsnip, potatoes and garlic and cook 30 minutes more.
- Top up with hot water as it goes, because the barley drinks an astonishing amount. Stir it regularly and scrape the bottom. It is ready when the barley is completely soft and swollen and the beans crush easily.
- Melt the lard in a small pan and fry the finely chopped onion until soft and golden. Stir in the flour and cook it 2 minutes until it smells nutty and turns pale gold. Now take the pan off the heat entirely before the paprika goes in.
- Stir the paprika in off the heat, then immediately whisk in a ladle of the hot cooking liquid. Adding hot liquid straight away stops the paprika cooking further and prevents lumps. Pour the zaprška back into the pot and stir it through. Simmer a further 15 minutes to cook out the flour. Lift out the ribs, pull the meat from the bones, and return it to the pot.
- Add a splash of vinegar if it needs lifting, which many households do. It should be very thick, thick enough that a spoon stands up in it, rather than soupy. Rest it off the heat for half an hour before serving. It is much better the next day and it thickens further, so loosen it with hot water when reheating.
- Serve it hot with dark bread, as a whole meal rather than a first course. It is winter food in Slovenia, Carinthia and Styria, and it turns up at mountain huts and village kitchens through the cold months.
Technique
- Pearl barley is standard; pot barley takes considerably longer.
- It freezes well and reheats better than most bean dishes.
- A meatless version for fasting days is made with more vegetables and oil.
Substitutions
- Any smoked pork: hock, bacon or a ham bone.
- Tinned beans, added in the last half hour.
Variations
- Meatless, for fasting days.
- With more sausage, which is the Austrian style.
- With dried plums, which is a regional habit.
History
Barley and bean stew with smoked pork ribs, an Austro-Slovene military and peasant dish known in Austria as Ritschert.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ričet?
Ričet is a soup & stew from Slovenia: barley pot with beans and smoked meat. Barley and bean stew with smoked pork ribs, an Austro-Slovene military and peasant dish known in Austria as Ritschert.
How long does Ričet take to make?
Ričet takes 20 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 2 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Ričet?
Yes, within limits. Any smoked pork: hock, bacon or a ham bone. Tinned beans, added in the last half hour.
What is the most important thing to get right in Ričet?
Simmer gently for about an hour. Do not salt it yet. Skim the surface in the first twenty minutes. Add the drained barley and cook a further 45 minutes. Now add the carrots, parsnip, potatoes and garlic and cook 30 minutes more.
