Garbure (South-West French Vegetable and Bean Soup)

A hearty South-West French one-pot soup of beans, cabbage, potatoes and smoked pork, served thick enough to eat with a fork.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 2h 30m
Total: 3 hours
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
6 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp duck fat (or olive oil)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 leeks, sliced and washed
  • 250g smoked bacon or gammon hock, in one piece
  • 2 x 400g tins haricot beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 small savoy cabbage, shredded
  • 2 litres chicken or ham stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 200g Toulouse sausages or garlic sausage, sliced
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Thick slices of country bread, to serve

Method

  1. Melt the duck fat in a large heavy-based casserole over a medium heat. Cook the onion, garlic, carrots and leeks for 8 minutes until softened.

  2. Add the piece of bacon, stock, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to the boil, skim off any scum, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

  3. Add the beans, potatoes and cabbage. Cover and simmer for a further 45 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the broth has thickened.

  4. Meanwhile, fry the sausage slices in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 5 minutes until browned all over.

  5. Lift the bacon out, shred the meat, discard any rind, then return the meat to the pot with the sausage. Remove the bay leaves and thyme stalks.

  6. Simmer for 10 minutes more, season to taste and serve in deep bowls with toasted country bread.