Pears, beans and bacon with bouillon – potatoes

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g smoked bacon
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium-sized onion(s), finely diced
• 500 ml water
• 1 tsp cornstarch (e.g. Mondamin)
• 400 g beans, fresh green, washed and cleaned
• 440 g pear(s) (preferably bacon pears or mayor’s pears)
• n. B. salt and pepper, freshly ground
• 3 tbsp savory, fresh, (without stems, chopped)
• 1 bunch parsley, flat, finely chopped
• 500 g potatoes
• 2 liters of meat broth or bouillon

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

It couldn’t be more North German…

Heat the oil in a large pot until very hot and sear the bacon on both sides for 5 minutes. Add the diced onion for the last 3 minutes. Deglaze with the water and simmer uncovered over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Remove the bacon and keep warm in the oven at 80 degrees Celsius. Add the washed and trimmed beans to the broth and season with salt, pepper, and savory. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, wash the pears and trim off only the blossom ends. Place the pears on top of the beans and simmer for another 10 minutes over medium heat. Shortly before the end of the cooking time, cut the bacon into finger-thick slices and place on top of the pears. Heat everything up again to high heat. Arrange the pears, beans, and bacon on a platter, sprinkle with parsley, and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve. Now heat the stock to high heat and reduce by one-third while stirring. Stir in the starch with a whisk to thicken the broth. Let it thicken briefly. Pour the thickened broth over the beans just before serving. For the side dish, peel 500g of potatoes and bring to a boil in the (strong!) broth/stock, then cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Serve the potatoes in a pan and pass them around with a slotted spoon.