Swabian-style green bean soup

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 5 Mettwurst, smoked, approx. 500 g or
• 500 g smoked ham, finely diced
• some margarine for frying
• 1 kg beans, green (green beans), fresh or frozen
• 3 tsp savory, fresh or dried
• 25 peppercorns, white and/or black
• 6 cloves
• 2 bay leaves, dried
• 2 ½ liters of beef broth
• 0.1 liters of vinegar
• Salt
• 1 m.-sized onion(s)
• 100 g butter or margarine
• 2 tbsp flour (approx. 60 g)

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

Original recipe from Grandma on Lake Constance

For the soup, cut the Mettwurst into 1 cm thick slices. Wash the beans, remove the stems and any strings, and cut into pieces about 5 cm long. Briefly fry the sliced ​​Mettwurst in a large pot (4-5 l) with the margarine. If you can’t find Mettwurst (or don’t know how to get them), you can also use diced ham. Add the sliced ​​beans and top up with about 2.5 l of beef broth. Sprinkle in the savory and add the vinegar. Place the peppercorns, cloves, and bay leaves in a tea infuser or spice bag and add to the soup. Stir briefly and simmer until the beans are almost tender. For the roux, peel the onion and chop into small pieces. Melt the margarine or butter in a pan. Add the chopped onion and immediately dust with flour. Brown the mixture slowly at about 3/4 heat (setting 7 of 9 on my stove), stirring frequently. It should have a thick consistency; otherwise, add a little more flour (if too runny) or butter (if too thick). Browning can take about 10-15 minutes. If the heat is too high, the flour will burn without the onions browning. In the end, it will brown very quickly and burn easily. The right time is when it is deep brown but not burnt. But the degree of browning is also a matter of taste. Pour the roux into the soup. Be careful, it may splatter a bit! Stir the soup and season with salt and vinegar. Serve with spaetzle as a side dish. For non-Swabians, noodles will also work. This is my children’s and their friends’ favorite soup! Tip: Cooking the rind of a smoked ham with the soup gives it a particularly hearty flavor.