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1
Drain the soaked borlotti beans and place them in a separate pot. Cover generously with cold water, season the water, and simmer for approximately 90 minutes until just tender — they must hold their shape and yield cleanly to the tooth without crumbling.
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2
Place the smoked pork in a large, heavy pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the crauti — unrinsed — and the potatoes. Cook at a low simmer, partly covered, until the potatoes are fully soft and beginning to collapse into the broth.
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3
Add the separately cooked borlotti beans to the pot. Stir and assess the body of the soup: it must be thick enough that a spoon stood upright in it barely falls over. If the soup runs too freely, crush a portion of the potato against the side of the pot or add further diced potato and continue simmering until the target density is reached.
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4
This is where the dish lives or dies. Remove the pot from the heat. In a small pan, melt the lard over moderate heat. Add the crushed garlic, crushed cumin and bay leaves and cook until the garlic is pale gold and the fat is deeply fragrant — the kitchen should smell of the smorzar before it goes into the soup. Stir the smorzar immediately into the soup off heat. It must not be added to a hot, actively cooking pot, nor at any earlier stage; it functions as a final flavour charge, not a cooked-out base.
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5
Season with salt only now, tasting carefully — the smoked pork and crauti will have contributed considerable salinity throughout. Serve with raw apple cider vinegar on the table so each portion may be adjusted to preference. The soup is measurably better on the second day.