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Vegetarian garbure

Local name: Garbure

The great peasant soup of south-west France, savoy cabbage, turnips, carrots, potatoes and white beans slow-simmered in a thyme broth.

Vegan#cabbage#white beans#soup#winter#south-west France
Vegetarian garbure

Photo: Arnold Gatilao from Fremont, CA, USA · CC BY 2.0

Prep
30 min
Cook
90 min
Total
120 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
Easy

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large pot. Fry the onions until lightly coloured, then add the garlic.
  2. Add the cabbage, carrots, turnips and bouquet garni. Pour in the water and season.
  3. Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour.
  4. Add the potatoes and white beans. Cook uncovered for 20 more minutes so the broth reduces slightly.
  5. Remove the bouquet garni and adjust the seasoning.
  6. Serve in deep bowls with all the vegetables and broth, over a slice of toasted bread.

Traditional garbure includes duck confit. Here the long-simmered beans and cabbage give the soup its body. It is even better reheated.

Nutrition · per serving

Calories
206 kcal
Protein
8.2 g
Fat
8.4 g
Carbohydrate
27.4 g
Fibre
8.4 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

With no duck confit, where does the body come from?

From the white beans and the long-simmered cabbage. The covered hour draws the sweetness out of the cabbage and turnips, and the beans release enough starch at the end to thicken the broth.

Why do the potatoes go in only at the end?

They need about twenty minutes; added at the start they would collapse entirely during the hour of simmering. The last stretch is uncovered so the broth reduces a little around them.

Can I use dried beans instead of tinned?

Yes, but soak them overnight and cook them separately, then add them at the end as you would the tinned ones. Cooked straight in the soup they would stretch the timing badly and the other vegetables would fall apart.

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