White Bean Soup Recipe
White Bean Soup – Weiße Bohnensuppe
The White Bean Soup is called weisse Bohnensuppe in Germany. White Bean Soup may be served with cooked sausages and bread. You can easily divide the ingredients to prepare smaller portions.
Ingredients for White Bean Soup:
- 600 g (21.16 oz) of dried white beans
- 1 ½ l (1.58 quarts) of cold water
- 150 g (5.29 oz) of diced celery stalks
- 200 g (7.05 oz) of diced carrots
- 200 g (7.05 oz) of diced Vidalia onions
- 200 g (7.05 oz) of black forest bacon OR your choice of bacon
- 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
- 2 cubes of Knorr Beef Bouillon OR Korr Vegetable Bouillon
- 3–4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste (optional)
- Leaves from 2–3 stems of fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon of paprika
- salt
- pepper
Preparation of the Beans:
Start by washing the beans and placing them in a bowl. Fill the bowl with water and let the beans soak overnight. (The beans should be covered with water). Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the diced bacon. When the fat starts to melt, add in the diced onions and diced cloves of garlic. Sautee the onions until they turn transparent before adding in the tomato paste. Pour in the beans and the water they have soaked in. Add water if necessary as the liquid should be about an inch above the beans.
Note: The beans will absorb water when you soak them, so you may have to add water.
Flavoring the Soup:
Wash the thyme and the leaves to the soup. The easiest way to separate the leaves from the stem is by striping them from top to bottom, going against the grain. Crumble the bouillon cubes and add to the soup along with the paprika. Mix all the ingredients together. Cover the saucepan and let it simmer for about 1 ½ hours on medium heat. Check on the soup from time to time and add water, if necessary. The beans should always be covered with water.
While the soup is simmering, peel the carrots and cut them in thin slices. Wash the celery stalks and dice them.
Cooking the soup:
After 1 ½ hours cooking time, add the diced carrots and celery to the soup. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve the soup with bread or with Oma’s Homemade Baguette. To try the Traditional German Lentil Soup click here and the Split Pea Soup click here.