Nugymama's Bean Soup

Nugymama is Hungarian for Grandmother, and she would make this soup every now and then and we would love it. We would also eat fried flat bread scoured with garlic (or in mine and my dad’s case whole cloves are eaten), which is called Langos, on the side.
When making this dish, it’s best to get a smoked shank from the store, as that gives the soup a smoky flavor. Sometimes I’ll use only the shanks, take them out and de-bone them, then put the meat and the bones back in. If there’s more people, you can add diced ham as well. I want to let you know right away that this recipe is not an exact recipe, the only way to get this was to watch my Grandmother make it, and of course she never uses the same amount of ingredients, but always has fantastic results. So experiment!

Nugymama's Bean Soup (for approximately 2 people)

• 1/2 cup pinto beans
• Smoked ham shank or/and ham steak cubed
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 parsley root (or parsley leaves) chopped
• 1 small bay leaf
• couple of cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 cup pinch noodles (recipe follows)
• 1/4 cup oil
• flour
• paprika

Put beans and enough water to cover into a large pot, and bring to a boil. Strain after 5 minutes of boiling. Repeat. Put back into pot, and add water to desired height in pot. Add meat, carrots, parsley root, bay leaf, garlic (leave a little bit for later), celery, and onion. Bring to a boil. Simmer on low for approx. 2 hours. Add noodles.
Then make the thickener. In a frying pan, put in oil and last bit of garlic. Add small amounts of  flour until it is not too loose, and not too dry. Keep stirring the oil mixture so that it does not burn. It will be golden brown when it is ready. Add a dash of paprika for color. Set aside until noodles are cooked.
When noodles are finished, add a little water from soup pot to thickener pan (or from sink if you want it to be thinner) stir to combine, and add to soup. Wait a few minutes for flavors to blend, and then the soup is ready to serve!

Pinch Noodles

• Flour (1 cup to start)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg

Combine the flour, salt, and egg. Keep adding flour until the dough is tough. you can roll it out, or use your palm to flatten it. Pinch off little pieces, and add to soup. This can be made ahead of time and dried.