Smocked Ham Hock Bean Cabbage Soup (Garbure)
The Garbure is a rustic soup from the Gascony region consisting of smoked ham hock, beans, cabbage and seasonal vegetables slowly stewed. It’s rich, full of smokey flavor and intentionally thick: it’s said a Garbure is ready when the ladle can stand upright in the pot. This robust soup is a great classic of French mountain cooking and best enjoyed on a blistery Winter day. Rural origins Like many French dishes, the Garbure was once peasant food, only cooked and enjoyed in rural areas of the South West of France.…
- Prep time
- 45 min
- Cook time
- 31 min
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- EASY
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 8 ounces (225g) dried white beans
- 2.5lbs (1.15kg) Smoked Ham Hock
- 1 large onion, peeled
- 8-10 cloves (the spice, not cloves of garlic)
- 1 celeri branch
- 4 bay leaves
- 4-5 thyme sprigs
- 3 1/2 tbsp (50g) duck fat (or butter)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 large carrots, peeled and cubed
- 1 large turnip, peeled and cubed
- 1 leek, cut in ½-inch half rounds
- ½ medium-size savoy cabbage, shredded
- 3-4 Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- 1
The day before, add the dried beans to a bowl and cover with water. Let soak overnight, or at least 12 hours.
- 2
Make the broth – poke the cloves into the whole peeled onion. Add the onion, celeri branch, bay leaves, thyme and ham hock into a large pot over high-medium heat. Add about 4.5 litres (18cups) of water or enough to cover the ham hock. Bring the water to a bowl, lower the temperature to low and simmer for 1 hour, covered.
- 3
In a large frying pan, melt the duck fat over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, carrots, turnips and leek. Cook for about 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until the leek is translucent (but not caramelized yet).
- 4
After the one hour, add the vegetables and drained beans to the broth. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for one hour, covered.
- 5
In the meantime, blanch the cabbage – heat up a medium pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Add the shredded cabbage and cook for 3 minutes until the leaves slightly soften. They should keep their vibrant color. Immediately transfer the cabbage to a colander and pass under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside to drain.
- 6
After the one hour, add the blanched cabbage to the soup and simmer for 30 minutes, covered. Add the potatoes to the soup and simmer for 30 more minutes, covered.
- 7
Remove the ham hock from the pot and transfer it onto a cutting board. Discard off the skin and excess fat and shred the meat with a fork; at this point the meat should fall off the bones easily. Return the shredded meat to the pot. Remove the clove-spiked onion, celeri and herbs from the pot. Discard the cloves and herbs, chop up the onion and celeri and place them back in the soup.
- 8
Cook for 15 more minutes with no lid and adjust seasoning if needed. To test the thickness of the soup, stick a soup ladle in the pot: if it stands upright on its own, it’s ready. It not, continue simmering the soup until it thickens more.
- 9
Serve in individual bowls with a light sprinkle of red pepper flakes and big slices of bread on the side.