Obara

Ingredients

Meat

• 1chicken, jointed, or 800 g cleaned tripe, or 400 g mixed mushrooms

Vegetables

• 3carrots, diced
• 2parsley roots or parsnips, diced
• 1celeriac, diced small
• 2potatoes, diced
• 1onion, chopped
• 2bay leaves

Roux

• 3 tbsplard or oil
• 3 tbspplain flour
• 3garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tspsweet paprika

To season

• 1 tspdried marjoram
• salt and black pepper
• 1 tbspvinegar, if wanted

To finish

• a handful of parsley, chopped

To serve

• bread
• or boiled buckwheat

Directions

1. Joint the chicken into eight pieces. Put them in a pot and cover them with cold water. Bring it slowly to the boil and skim the foam. Add the bay leaves and a good pinch of salt. Simmer it gently for forty minutes.
2. Lift the chicken out and pull the meat off the bones. Strain the broth and keep it aside. Return the bones to the broth and simmer them another twenty minutes. Strain it again and discard the bones. Preparing tripe obara takes considerably longer.
3. Rinse the tripe thoroughly and rub it with coarse salt. Rinse it again and blanch it for ten minutes in boiling water. Drain that water off and rinse both the tripe and the pot. Cut the tripe into thin strips. Simmer it in fresh water for about two hours until tender. Keep the cooking liquid, which becomes the broth.
4. Fry them in a dry pan until their water has cooked off. Use vegetable stock in place of meat broth. Dice the carrot, parsley root and celeriac small and evenly. Even dice matters, since they should all be done at once.
5. Bring the broth back to a simmer in a large pot. Add the diced root vegetables and the chopped onion. Simmer them for fifteen minutes. Add the diced potato and cook for another fifteen minutes. Everything should be tender but should hold its shape.
6. Melt the lard in a small pan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook it for three minutes. Let it turn a light golden brown. Take the pan off the heat entirely.
7. Stir in the crushed garlic and the paprika. Adding paprika off the heat is what stops it turning bitter. Ladle some hot broth into the roux pan. Whisk it smooth before it goes anywhere near the stew. Pour the loosened roux into the stew, stirring as you go. Simmer it for fifteen minutes so the flour cooks out.
8. Add the chicken meat, tripe strips or mushrooms back to the stew. Add the marjoram and season it with salt and pepper. Simmer it for a further ten minutes. It should be thick enough to coat a spoon heavily. Add a spoonful of vinegar if it tastes flat, which lifts it. Serving it is done hot in deep bowls. Scatter chopped parsley over each bowl. Serve bread alongside for mopping.

Technique

• Loosen the roux with hot broth before it goes in, or it will lump.
• Add the paprika off the heat, since it turns bitter over direct heat.
• Dice the root vegetables evenly so they finish at the same time.

Substitutions

• Vegetable stock and mushrooms for a meatless version.
• Parsnip in place of parsley root.

Variations

• Made with tripe, which is a common version.
• Made with mushrooms for fasting days.
• With smoked sausage sliced in.

History

An everyday Slovenian one-pot; chicken, tripe and mushroom versions appear across the regions, thickened with a light roux.

Frequently asked questions

What is Obara?

Obara is a soup & stew from Slovenia: thick stew of meat, root vegetables and often mushrooms. An everyday Slovenian one-pot; chicken, tripe and mushroom versions appear across the regions, thickened with a light roux.

How long does Obara take to make?

Obara takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hour 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Obara?

Yes, within limits. Vegetable stock and mushrooms for a meatless version. Parsnip in place of parsley root.

What is the most important thing to get right in Obara?

Loosen the roux with hot broth before it goes in, or it will lump.