Bouneschlupp

Ingredients

Soup

• 600 ggreen beans, topped, tailed and cut into 3 cm lengths
• 600 gfloury potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 cm dice
• 200 gsmoked streaky bacon, in one piece or thickly diced
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 1leek, white and pale green, sliced
• 2 tbspbutter
• 1.5 litreswater or light stock
• 3 sprigssummer savory (Bounekraut), or 1 tsp dried
• 2bay leaves
• 1.5 tspsalt
• ½ tspblack pepper

To finish

• 150 mldouble cream
• 1 tbspplain flour, optional, for a light roux
• 1 handfulparsley, chopped

To serve

• 4Mettwurst or smoked pork sausages
• Crusty bread

Directions

1. Render the bacon in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the fat runs and the pieces are golden. If using a whole piece, brown it all over and leave it in the pot.
2. Add the butter, onions and leek and sweat for 10 minutes over low heat until soft and translucent but not coloured.
3. Add the water or stock, the bay leaves and the savory, and bring to a simmer.
4. Add the potatoes and simmer 15 minutes, until they are starting to soften at the edges and beginning to cloud the broth.
5. Add the green beans and simmer a further 20–25 minutes. Luxembourgish beans in this soup are cooked soft, not left squeaky and bright; they should be olive-drab and completely tender.
6. Crush a few of the potato dice against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon to thicken the broth naturally. If you prefer, make a light roux with the flour and a knob of butter and whisk it in.
7. Poach the Mettwurst in the soup for the last 12 minutes, or in a separate pan of barely simmering water so their fat does not cloud the pot.
8. Stir in the cream off the boil, season generously with salt and pepper, and fish out the bay leaves and savory stalks.
9. Ladle into deep bowls, lay a sausage across each, scatter with parsley and serve with crusty bread. The soup should be thick enough that the spoon stands for a second before falling.

Technique

• Summer savory, Bounekraut in Luxembourgish, literally means bean herb, and it is the flavour that makes this soup Luxembourgish rather than generically Northern European. Thyme is not a substitute for the taste, only for the aroma.
• Cook the beans properly soft. This is a peasant soup from an era before the fashion for crunch, and undercooked beans taste raw against the cream and bacon.
• Thickening with crushed potato rather than flour keeps the texture rustic and is the older method.
• Bouneschlupp is on almost every Luxembourgish menu and every household makes it slightly differently; some add carrot, some leave out the cream entirely.

Substitutions

• No summer savory: use winter savory, or a mix of thyme and a pinch of ground white pepper, and accept the difference.
• Mettwurst can be replaced with any coarse smoked sausage, such as a Polish kiełbasa or a Morteau.
• Frozen green beans work perfectly well here, given how long they cook.

Variations

• A version thickened with a proper butter-and-flour roux, common in restaurants.
• Bouneschlupp made without cream, leaner and more brothy, the everyday farmhouse style.
• A version with the sausage sliced into the pot rather than served whole.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bouneschlupp?

Bouneschlupp is a soup & stew from Luxembourg: green bean soup with potatoes, bacon, and Mettwurst sausage.

How long does Bouneschlupp take to make?

Bouneschlupp takes 25 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Bouneschlupp?

Yes, within limits. No summer savory: use winter savory, or a mix of thyme and a pinch of ground white pepper, and accept the difference. Mettwurst can be replaced with any coarse smoked sausage, such as a Polish kiełbasa or a Morteau. Frozen green beans work perfectly well here, given how long they cook.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bouneschlupp?

Summer savory, Bounekraut in Luxembourgish, literally means bean herb, and it is the flavour that makes this soup Luxembourgish rather than generically Northern European. Thyme is not a substitute for the taste, only for the aroma.