# Pork & White Bean Cabbage Stew with Ginger

Hearty Eastern European-style stew with a ginger lift. Pressure cooker does the heavy work on both the dried beans and the pork.

## Ingredients

**From inventory:**
- [ ] 💧 ~300g dried giant elephant beans `ID:beans-giant-greek` (TB-17, bb:2025-04-11) ⚠️ expired — visual + smell check before soaking; discard any shrivelled/off-smelling beans
- [ ] 560g early cabbage `ID:cabbage-2026-05-11` (pantry-behind-stove, bb:2026-05-25)
- [ ] ~30g fresh ginger root (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-05-25)
- [ ] 2–3 onions `ID:onions-2026-05-11` (pantry-behind-stove, bb:2026-08-11)
- [ ] 2–3 carrots `ID:carrots-2026-05-11` (pantry-behind-stove, bb:2026-06-25)
- [ ] garlic, 3–4 cloves (pantry-behind-stove, bb:2026-08-08)
- [ ] 1 tin (140g) tomato paste `EAN:20285685` (pantry, bb:2028-05-11)
- [ ] olive oil `ID:oliveoil-costadoro` (pantry-spice-stove)
- [ ] 1 chicken bouillon cube `EAN:20420635` (F-01, bb:2027)
- [ ] 1 tsp ground cumin `ID:cumin-mykouzina` (F-13)
- [ ] 1 tsp smoked paprika `ID:paprika-smoked-kotanyi` (F-13, bb:2026-03) ⚠️ slightly past bb — still fine for dry spice
- [ ] 1 tbsp sweet paprika `ID:paprika-sweet-kania` (F-13)
- [ ] black pepper `ID:pepper-black-bg` (F-13)
- [ ] salt `ID:salt-coarse` (F-03)
- [ ] fresh parsley `ID:parsley-2026-05-11` (pantry-behind-stove, bb:2026-05-18) ⚠️ use tonight

**Needs shopping:**
- [ ] 🛒 600–700g pork shoulder or pork ribs

**Preparation needed:**
- [ ] 💧 Beans need soaking: overnight cold soak, or quick-soak (bring to boil, boil 2 min, leave covered 1 hour, drain)

## Equipment

Pressure cooker essential — both for pre-cooking the beans and finishing the stew with the pork. Giant beans need a long cook; the pressure cooker saves gas and time.

## Instructions

### Day before (or 1 hour before)
1. Soak beans in plenty of cold water overnight. Or quick-soak (see above). Drain and rinse.

### Cooking
2. Pressure-cook the soaked beans alone with water (cover by 5cm) for 20–25 min. They should be almost tender but not falling apart. Drain, reserving some cooking water.
3. Cut pork into 4–5cm chunks. Season with salt and pepper.
4. In the pressure cooker (lid off), heat a splash of olive oil over medium-high heat. Brown pork in batches — don't crowd. Set aside.
5. In the same pot, fry onions (roughly chopped) until soft, ~5 min. Add carrots (sliced), garlic (crushed), and ginger (grated or finely minced). Fry 2 min more.
6. Add tomato paste, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, and cumin. Stir and fry 1 min until fragrant.
7. Return pork to pot. Add beans, roughly shredded cabbage, and bouillon cube dissolved in ~400ml water (or use bean cooking water). Stir well.
8. Seal pressure cooker. Cook on high pressure for 25–30 min.
9. Release pressure. Check pork is tender. If cabbage is too watery, simmer uncovered a few minutes to reduce.
10. Adjust seasoning. Finish with a generous handful of chopped fresh parsley stirred in off the heat.

## Variations

> **Note:** Traditional white bean stews in this region (Bulgarian, Romanian, Greek) don't typically use ginger — it adds brightness and a slight warmth that bridges Eastern European and more Eastern flavours. Omit for a more orthodox result.

> **Note:** A splash of apple cider vinegar (`ID:vinegar-paros`) at step 10 adds nice acidity if the stew tastes flat.

## Items used from inventory

| Item | ID | Location | Status |
|------|----|----------|--------|
| Giant elephant beans | beans-giant-greek | TB-17 | ⚠️ EXPIRED bb:2025-04-11 |
| Early cabbage | cabbage-2026-05-11 | pantry-behind-stove | bb:2026-05-25 |
| Ginger root | (no ID) | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-05-25 |
| Onions | onions-2026-05-11 | pantry-behind-stove | bb:2026-08-11 |
| Carrots | carrots-2026-05-11 | pantry-behind-stove | bb:2026-06-25 |
| Garlic | (no ID) | pantry-behind-stove | bb:2026-08-08 |
| Tomato paste | EAN:20285685 | pantry | bb:2028-05-11 |
| Olive oil | oliveoil-costadoro | pantry-spice-stove | ok |
| Chicken bouillon | EAN:20420635 | F-01 | bb:2027 |
| Cumin | cumin-mykouzina | F-13 | ok |
| Smoked paprika | paprika-smoked-kotanyi | F-13 | bb:2026-03 (minor) |
| Sweet paprika | paprika-sweet-kania | F-13 | ok |
| Fresh parsley | parsley-2026-05-11 | pantry-behind-stove | ⚠️ bb:2026-05-18 use tonight |

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*Generated 2026-05-13 to use expired giant elephant beans (TB-17) and near-expiry parsley and cabbage.*