Garden Bean Soup

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Garden Bean Soup (aka Pickle Soup)

Growing up we called this butter bean soup and we couldn’t wait for my mother to make it.  Now the last thing you want to think about on a hot summers day is having a bowl of soup, but this one we looked forward to all year long.  As I became more educated about food I realized that butter beans were a whole different type of legume.

This soup is different then most because the use of pickle juice as the base.  Now you can replace it with whatever stock you prefer, but if you are slightly adventurous and like dill pickles, I believe that you will love it.  I save up my homemade or Klaussen pickle juice all year in the refrigerator just to make this one pot.  Don’t worry if you haven’t been collecting pickle juice, you can achieve the flavor by adding vinegar to the soup.  Honestly that’s all my grandmother did with hers, my mom was the one to start using pickle juice.  I do not recommend using any shelf brand pickles, I have found their flavor not to have the desired taste we are looking for.

  Yellow beans were only available in the summer when I was a kid not all-year-round like today, but is still only make it once a year.  Serve this with some crusty bread an you will have a hearty meal.

Time: 2-3 hours     Difficulty:  Moderate

Recipe:

• 1 qt. fresh wax or green beans, trimmed and cut in half
• 1 c. onion, small dice
• 2 large potatoes, medium dice
• 1 lb. carrots, small dice
• 1 lb. smoked kielbasa, cut into 1/4” half moons
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 4 Tbls. butter
• 1 qt. pickle juice
• 2 large fresh or Klaussen pickles, thinly sliced
• 1 qt. water
• 2-4 Tbls. cider vinegar, as needed
• pepper to taste

Prepare you ingredients (mise en place)

Kielbasa, beans, carrots, garlic and potatoes (onion not pictured)

Kielbasa cut into 1/4” half moons

4 pickle halves thinly sliced

2 large potatoes medium diced, keep in cold water until added to soup.

Sauté onions and garlic cloves in butter until translucent.

Add carrots, beans, kielbasa and pickle slices, continue to sauté for a few minutes.

Add pickle juice and water to cover all the ingredients, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 1 hour.

Drain and add potatoes to soup, return to a boil then reduce to a simmer again for 20 minutes.  Skim any foam that may come to the top of the soup and discard.  Taste and adjust flavor by adding additional vinegar if desired.  My family likes a lot.

Enjoy!

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