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Garbure (French Meat and Veggie Soup)

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | January 27, 2019 23 Comments

Last updated on March 16th, 2019

It’s been cold, cold, cold here in Upstate New York. In other words, it’s Garbure weather! Garbure (pronounced “gar-boor”) is a rustic peasant soup from the Pyrenees region of southwest France. It’s thick with white beans and cabbage, and hearty with meat. And if you think it’s delicious on day one, just wait until you taste it on days two and three! The recipe for this beautiful brew:

Note: Garbure’s only required ingredients are white beans, cabbage, and meat. Although I used pork for the meat component, the soup in France usually contains duck confit.

Anyway, I hope you’ll experiment with this soup. I made it on Friday, and we’re still enjoying it today (Sunday).

I have to ask: Does this carrot make me look fat?

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The printable:

Print
Garbure (French Ham and Veggie Soup)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Yield: about 8 servings

A rustic soup from the Pyrenees region of southwest France.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 pound (or slightly more) boneless pork butt or pork prime roast
  • 1 large white onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 or 2 leeks (white and light green parts), roughly diced
  • 6 carrots, thickly sliced
  • 3 (or more) cloves of garlic
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 head of 'Savoy' cabbage, shredded
  • 1 cup dried Great Northern beans, soaked overnight
  • Bouquet Garni (3 sprigs each of parsley, thyme and rosemary, tied with string)
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • Water as needed
  • 1 pound baby red potatoes, halved
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas

Instructions

  1. In a 5-quart (or larger) soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the pork, and brown it on both sides. Remove the pork to a plate, and set aside.
  2. Add the onion, leek, carrots, garlic, and salt and pepper. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the onion and leek soften -- 5-7 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook until soft -- about 2 minutes. Return the pork to the pot, and add the beans and bouquet garni. Add the chicken stock, and enough water to cover the ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover the pot, lower the heat, and simmer gently for 90 minutes.
  3. Add the potatoes, and let them simmer until tender -- 20-30 minutes.
  4. Add the frozen peas, and let them cook until warmed -- about 1 minute. Turn off the heat.
  5. Remove and shred the pork. Then return the pork to the pot, and enjoy this thick and hearty soup!
3.1
https://www.agardenforthehouse.com/garbure-french-ham-and-veggie-soup/
Copyright 2015 by Kevin Lee Jacobs

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Comments

  1. 1

    gloria says

    January 27, 2019 at 11:19 am

    Thanks for this variation of delicious rustic cooking.
    I am running out to the store now to get all of the ingredients for this week’s soup!
    Nothing like a hearty veggie and meat soup to warm up Northeastern winter nights. Healthy and Satisfying. Perfect!
    Don’t worry about the carrot.

  2. 2

    A says

    January 27, 2019 at 11:29 am

    Loved the post on the soup
    What would be the time and settings if I used a crock pot?
    Many Tks
    Ann In NYC

  3. 3

    Cary says

    January 27, 2019 at 12:35 pm

    Great soup recipe!!! Can’t wait to warm my kitchen and perfume the house with hot soup. Prediction here is a WEEK of subzero weather.

  4. 4

    Cathy Wood says

    January 27, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    Love making soup this time of year
    Thank you for your great recipes my Grandaughter and I are going to tackle your Grams cookies. She loves to bake. 13 and asked for a kitchen aide mixer for Christmas!

  5. 5

    Betsy says

    January 27, 2019 at 1:23 pm

    Wonder how you could do this in the instant pot ?

  6. 6

    angela rushefski says

    January 27, 2019 at 2:18 pm

    It’s been a cold New England winter so a week doesn’t go by without a pot of soup simmering on our stove. This recipe has all my faves: pork, cabbage, beans and veggies – YUM! Can’t wait to try it!
    Also must mention I have made your wonderful sheet pan dinner – OFTEN – it’s absolutely delicious and so easy to put together! Thank you! Keep warm!

  7. 7

    linda says

    January 27, 2019 at 2:45 pm

    oh my gosh Kevin that soup or stew looks amazing my hubby dont like a lot of onions so i will not add as many but will puree the rest he wont see it but the taste will be there i also will use bone broth as i just got an order and some boxes of bone broth its cold here in Missouri too the last month and going to be cold in Feb . soups and stews and chilies are so wonderful thanks for this recipe i love when i can see the video of how to do it. going to buy some leaks today and this soup is going to be made tomorrow thank you so much i will use my larger stock pot

  8. 8

    sue says

    January 27, 2019 at 3:59 pm

    Kevin,the carrot is nice and fat,not you!Soup looks delicious.Would like to try it with ham.

  9. 9

    pk says

    January 27, 2019 at 6:37 pm

    …mmm. And I just finished grinding 7 lbs of pork butt for sausage. Guess I’ll be buying another pork roast to make this delicious sounding soup!

  10. 10

    Sheila says

    January 27, 2019 at 6:56 pm

    What a wondeful recipe for the Maine shore! Will make it when we travel up for the summer!

  11. 11

    Cherylann McGuire says

    January 27, 2019 at 8:55 pm

    I love soup and this one is thick enough even for my husband! I will be adding it to my repertoire very soon!

  12. 12

    Rena says

    January 28, 2019 at 3:01 am

    Looks and reads utterly delicious. Gets printed immediately and cooked as soon as it will be conducive to cold cold weather as opposed to Celsius in the high thirties we are having right now more often than not in Australia. Cold cold cold sounds rather appealing. Thanks a lot Kevin, love your website !

  13. 13

    Meredith Hill says

    January 29, 2019 at 7:31 pm

    Your soup looks so delicious and hearty! Perfect for this time of year here in Washington state. I can’t wait to try it. I plan on using canned great northern beans or a similar bean, so how many cans or cups should I use, since you used 1 cup of dried beans?

    Thank you so much!

  14. 14

    Carol L says

    January 30, 2019 at 11:53 am

    Made the Garbure yesterday using Smoked Bratwurst I had on hand for the meat, canned cannelli beans and ordinary russet potatoes. Had no fresh thyme so used dried. Was delicious and oh so attractive. The shredded cabbage cooked down to nothing which was a bonus as my husband thinks he doesn’t like cabbage.

  15. 15

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    January 30, 2019 at 12:04 pm

    Hi Carol L – Thanks for the review. Your smoked bratwurst variation sounds almost too delicious!

  16. 16

    Jeane says

    January 30, 2019 at 5:48 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I have not made soup from scratch in a long time, but I just happened to have pork in my freezer, a head of cabbage and two fat leeks in the crisper so I decided to give it a try. I tossed in some chickpeas and didn’t have rosemary so I substituted summer savory. I think I miss the rosemary flavor though. But it was great! especially with some extra peppers. The kids all took second helpings and said I should definitely make it again. I have to say, either I measured something wrong or you dish out giant servings: it needed my largest soup pot and could have easily fed fourteen people!

  17. 17

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    January 30, 2019 at 6:04 pm

    Hi Jeane – I’m so glad you tried this French soup, and that you and your family enjoyed it. Yes, the recipe makes a substantial amount. I cooked mine in a 5-quart Dutch oven. My spouse and I enjoyed the soup for 3 days!

  18. 18

    gloria says

    February 2, 2019 at 12:01 pm

    Okay- I have to say that a week into this stew- My husband loved it- My neighbors loved it and now I froze the rest to save for another really cold night when we need sustenance. This recipe is a real keeper. I confess to adding a little white wine because that always perks up the French essence.
    With or without wine this is a savory treat on a dark winter’s evening with a warm fire heating a cozy home. Makes the coldest season a joy.

  19. 19

    Annie says

    February 3, 2019 at 5:56 pm

    YUM!!
    Thank you! Perfect for these cold days.

  20. 20

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    February 3, 2019 at 8:55 pm

    Hi Gloria – I’m so glad you liked the soup!

    Hi Annie – Yum indeed, and you’re welcome!

  21. 21

    Deborah GOODMAN says

    February 10, 2019 at 8:14 pm

    I’m a firm believer that every recipe box should include at least three or four good soup recipes. This one will be joining my collection. I’m always on the lookout for good soup/stew recipes to use for dreary fall days and the nasty winter months. This is almost like boiled dinner if you think about it.

  22. 22

    Marie Nelson says

    December 8, 2019 at 4:43 pm

    Hi Kevin! I can hardly wait to make and eat this soup. Reading the recipe literally made my mouth water. We love pork and in general you just don’t see many soup recipes that utilize it. I have a question though. Would cutting the pork butt into bite size pieces and just leaving it that way instead of shredding the meat alter the flavor or integrity of the recipe too much?

  23. 23

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    December 8, 2019 at 5:08 pm

    Hi Marie – You can cut the meat just as you suggested. There are no rules! Enjoy!

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