Christmas beetroot soup with porcini mushroom ravioli

Ingredients for 12 servings:

• 1 kg smoked smoked pork loin, streaky or belly, cured and smoked
• 3 m.-sized onion(s)
• 1 ½ liters of water
• 1 kg beef for cooking, not too lean, preferably with bone
• 1 small bunch of soup vegetables
• some peppercorns, black
• 2 liters of water
• 2 liters of beetroot juice (straight juice)
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• 1 shot of vinegar
• 60 g dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 small onion(s)
• some butter
• 2 tbsp ricotta
• 1 egg(s)
• salt and pepper
• 1 pack of pasta dough (homemade is fine)

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 5 hours

festive

Simmer the smoked pork or pork belly with the onions for about 2-3 hours. In another pot, simmer the beef with the vegetables and peppercorns. While the broth is simmering, prepare the ravioli (originally called Uschkerl). Soak the porcini mushrooms in a little water. Finely chop the onion and sauté in the butter. Squeeze out the porcini mushrooms and chop them finely. Do not discard the soaking water, but save it for the soup. Add the porcini mushrooms to the onions and sauté. The onions should be golden brown at best. Remove from the pan and let cool. Season with pepper and salt and bind with ricotta and egg to form a dough. Use a ravioli board to make the ravioli. Place the pasta dough on top, fill the indentations with some of the filling and then top with pasta dough. Place the finished ravioli on baking paper sprinkled with semolina. When the broth is ready, combine it with the mushroom soaking water and the juice in a large pot, season with salt (careful: smoked pork is already salted!), sugar, and vinegar. Bring to a boil and let the ravioli simmer in it; it only takes a few minutes. My grandmother always made this soup on Christmas Eve. The recipe, like my grandmother’s, comes from Poland and is still made by all her grandchildren at Christmas. Note about the broth: The meat can be eaten cold as a snack; the vegetables are cooked and can be thrown away.