Recipe Rhubarb Soup with Bacon Omelette

But then we had some Romanians visiting us this spring. They saw me coming from my friend's garden with arms full of huge rhubarb stalks and they both exclaimed at the same time: "Oh! Do you make rhubarb soup?" And I said: "Oh? No... Rhubarb soup, I've never heard of it! I just make jam." They told me it was a soup traditionally eaten in their region, every spring you would have this rhubarb and tomato soup at least once. They couldn't really give me a recipe, they just roughly explained what to put in it. They told me it was a pork soup with tomatoes and bacon. Apparently, this isn't a purely Romanian recipe, but rather one inspired by the German population living in Romania – the Saxons. They live mainly in Transylvania, and it's only in this region that rhubarb is actually eaten in Romania. The Saxons introduced rhubarb to the Romanian population and you will be hard pressed to find a rhubarb recipe in any other region of Romania.

INGRÉDIENTSRhubarb and Tomato Soup

• 2-3 rhubarb stalks depending on size, about 250 g/ 8.8 oz
• 2 medium onions
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar + more to taste
• 1.2 liters / 2.5 pints / 5 cups chicken stock (see notes 1 and 2)
• 500 ml/ 17 oz/ 2 cups tomato puree/strained tomatoes/passata (See note 3)
• 175 ml/ 6 fl.oz/ ¾ cup heavy cream
• 1 large sprig of fresh lovage or 1 teaspoon of dried lovage (see note 4)

Bacon Omelet

• 125 g/ 4.4 oz smoked bacon (See note 2 for vegetarian version)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 6 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons milk
• ½ teaspoon sweet paprika powder
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

PRÉPARATIONRhubarb Soup

1. Clean and cut the rhubarb stalks into small pieces. Finely chop the onions.
2. Heat the oil in a pot and cook the rhubarb and onions until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the paprika powder on top and stir for another minute.
3. Add the sugar, chicken broth, and puréed tomatoes. If using dried lovage, add it to the soup now. Fresh lovage should be added later.
4. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until the rhubarb is completely soft. Blend the soup with an immersion blender. Add the heavy cream and adjust the taste with salt, pepper, and more sugar. The rhubarb soup should have a sweet and sour taste.

Bacon Omelet

1. Finely chop the bacon and fry the cubes in 1 tablespoon of oil in a nonstick pan. Beat the eggs and milk in a small bowl, add the sweet paprika and a little salt and pepper. Pour the eggs over the bacon in the pan, letting the omelet set slightly.
2. Start pushing the cooked portions from the edges of the pan toward the center, so that the uncooked eggs can also touch the bottom of the pan. Tilt the pan and push the eggs until they are all cooked. Break the omelet into large pieces and add them to the soup.
3. Sprinkle the rhubarb soup with the chopped lovage.