Zierja me thjerrëza…

Sort out the lentils, wash them and soak them overnight with three times the amount of water. Boil the swollen lentils with the soaking water for 15 minutes.

Peel and wash the potatoes, cut them into cubes and cook for about 20 minutes. Drain and add to the lentils.

Clean, wash and chop the vegetables. Put the bacon and allspice in a saucepan. Pour in water, bring to the boil and cook for about 30 minutes.

Remove the bacon, pour the stock through a sieve. Remove allspice grains. Puree the vegetables and stir into the soup. Pour in as much broth, depending on how thick or thin you want the stew.

Cut the stew in half. Option 1: Cut the bacon into cubes and mix with the lentil stew.

Since I absolutely don't like black pudding, but my husband doesn't know any other lentil stew, now comes variant 2: cut black pudding into cubes, cut gherkins into small pieces. Stir black pudding, gherkins and marjoram into the soup. Season to taste with a little cucumber water.

Everyone makes vinegar and sugar to their own taste on both variants.