Garbure Béarnaise
There's nothing like the taste of good Garbure Béarnaise, made of green cabbage, beans, leeks, and enriched with a portion of goose conserves. This a soup I am particularly proud of as it is a specialty from the Béarn region I was born.
Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 1 small Savoy cabbage, coarsely chopped
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 medium leeks, cut in julienne style
- 0.5 cup duck fat
- 1 pound navy beans
- 5 quarts water, (1 quart = 4 cups)
- 2 pounds turnips, sliced
- 3 small carrots, sliced
- 20 pieces green beans, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 8 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 bouquet garni, removed before serving
- 6 legs duck confit
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound smoked bacon
- Salt and pepper to taste, to taste
- 1 bunch parsley, chopped
Instructions
- The day before: Soak the navy beans overnight or at least for several hours. Drain and rinse them.
- Make the soup: Wash and prepare the vegetables. Sweat the onions, cabbage, and leeks in the duck fat. Add water and all ingredients except the potatoes. Cover the pot and cook the soup slowly over medium heat for about 1 and 1/2 hours. Add the peeled cut potatoes, and cook for 30 minutes or until soft. Add more water as needed.
- At this point, taste the seasonings and add salt and pepper (it may need very little salt because of the confit). Remove the bouquet garni, and then serve it hot, accompanied by slices of French bread. Garbure should be served at the table steaming hot.
Notes
My grandmother Augusta used to cook the Garbure like nobody else. She fed the pot all winter long on a wood stove, and the perfume of the soup wafted all over the neighborhood. You can read about making the Garbure in my culinary memoir "A Gourmand in Training" (Child to Chef Book 1).