Weisse Bohnensuppe (White Bean Soup)
Submitted by amster
Hearty German white bean soup (Weisse Bohnensuppe) simmered for hours with a smoked ham bone, navy beans, celery, and garlic. Simple, rustic, and deeply satisfying comfort food.
Some soups try to impress with a long ingredient list. This one impresses with patience.
Dried navy beans soak overnight, then spend hours in a pot with a smoked ham bone, slowly absorbing all that smoky, porky richness until the broth turns silky and the beans are creamy-soft.
Onions, garlic, celery, and parsley go in for the last hour, adding freshness and bite to balance the deep, savory base.
Once the ham bone comes out, you dice the tender meat clinging to it and stir it right back in.
This is the kind of no-fuss German kitchen cooking that warms you from the inside out on the coldest days.
Kitchen Tips
- Soak the beans overnight. Skipping this step means uneven cooking and some beans that stay stubbornly hard.
- A smoked ham hock works just as well as a ham bone and is usually easier to find at the butcher counter.
- Simmer uncovered so the broth reduces and concentrates. Covering the pot will leave you with a thinner soup.
- Season with salt at the end, after the ham bone has contributed its own saltiness. You can always add more, but you can’t take it back.
Ingredients
Directions
Cover beans with water in large pot or soup kettle and soak overnight.
Rinse beans well and return to pot with ham bone and 3 quarts of water.
Simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours.
Add parsley, onions, garlic, celery and tops, salt and pepper.
Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender.
Remove ham bone, dice the meat, and add meat to soup.
Serve hot.
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