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Soupe aux gourganes
Broad bean and barley soup
Soupe aux gourganes: Québec broad bean soup with barley, vegetables and salt pork
Soupe aux gourganes is the signature soup of Charlevoix and the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean in Québec, where the large gourgane broad bean, brought by the first French settlers, grows in cool northern fields. Picked in late summer and frozen or dried for winter, the beans are simmered slowly with pearl barley, carrots, onion, celery, herbs and salted pork belly (lard salé) into a thick, comforting soup served all year at family tables and roadside casse-croûtes. The usual mistake is not desalting the salt pork, which can make the soup far too salty; blanch it first. Slow-cooker option: after step 2, cook on low for 8 hours. If you can't find gourganes, use frozen or dried broad beans. Chef's tip: a handful of chopped yellow beans or savory (sarriette) added at the end gives the authentic Charlevoix flavour.
- Total time
- 150 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 5 ½ oz salted pork belly (lard salé)diced
- 1 onionchopped
- 2 carrotsdiced
- 2 sticks celerydiced
- 1 ⅓ lb gourganes (broad beans), frozen or soaked driedpeeled if large
- 3 ½ oz pearl barleyrinsed
- 8 ¼ cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried savory
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp fresh parsleychopped
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Put 5 ½ oz salted pork belly (lard salé) in a pot of cold water, bring to the boil, simmer 5 minutes and drain to remove excess salt.
10 minStep 3: Add 1 ⅓ lb gourganes (broad beans), frozen or soaked dried, 3 ½ oz pearl barley, 8 ¼ cups water, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp dried savory and ½ tsp black pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer partly covered for 1 hour 45 minutes, stirring now and then, until the beans are soft and the barley swollen and creamy.
105 minStep 4: Taste, add ½ tsp salt only if needed, stir in 3 tbsp fresh parsley and serve hot.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 390 kcal
- Protein
- 17 g
- Carbs
- 45 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 12 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does soupe aux gourganes take?
- About 150 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 130 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of carrots?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
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