Pork legs with lentils
Some peoples have dishes made of shark fins and other fish with a cartilaginous skeleton, and we, in the hilly Balkans, have dishes from the lower legs of younger pigs, calves, young cattle and young poultry. Dishes from the listed species and categories of animals have the property of gelatinizing, that is, to turn into pihtije / hladetina. So that the enjoyers of these dishes, on all meridians, have the opportunity to feel the beneficialness and healing properties. The suggested recipe is a thicker stew with lentils / (and beans, beans or peas can also be used).
Preparation steps
- Soak the washed pork legs in plenty of water and leave to soak overnight. At the same time, in another bowl, soak the lens in cold water. Keep both containers, overnight, on cold concrete in the pantry.
- Tomorrow morning, drain the pork legs, rinse nicely with cold water and wrap each leg in cotton gauze. Put the bent legs in a bowl with cold, salted water and cook for about 3 hours on a low heat in an espresso pot. At the same time, put the lentils to cook, with the suggested vegetables, in an enamel pot with a lid. Let it cook for about an hour and a half.
- After cooking, remove the pork legs wrapped in gauze from the pot and strain the cooked lentils. Save both extracts from cooking as a base for another dish.
- Add fried bacon cubes, onion, celery and butter to the drained lentils. Stir the tomato concentrate into the bone base, pepper, salt to taste and pour into the mixture with the lentils. Cook until the liquid boils in half and you get a thicker consistency. Cut the legs lengthwise in half.
Serving
Put half of the leg in a plate and pour over the lentil sauce. Serve more spicy, slightly sour, salad of your choice and fresh homemade bread or bun. Beer is drunk with this dish.