Bouneschlupp, the national soup of Luxembourg, is a thick green-bean soup with potato and often sausage. Humble and filling, it is everyday country cooking, the pot kept simmering on the back of the stove.
Spoon up bouneschlupp — pale amber broth with bright green beans, potato chunks, leek ribbons, bacon flecks, crème fraîche pooling. Bite: green beans crisp-tender and grassy-sweet, potato soft and creamy, bacon's smoky salt, savory's distinctive aromatic note, crème fraîche's cool tang. With crusty bread to soak the broth, this is universal Luxembourg comfort.
Savory (the herb) is the Luxembourg signature flavor in bouneschlupp. Adding green beans late preserves crunch. Crème fraîche off heat prevents curdling.
Variations
With sausage added. With smoked ham hock. With more bacon. Without crème fraîche (lighter). With added cream. With kuddel (tripe) for traditional version.
On the Palate
Where Bouneschlupp sits in the Luxembourgish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
9 steps · 30 min active + 45 min waiting
- 16 min
Dice 150 g bacon; render in heavy pot 5 min until crispy.
Watch outRender the bacon slowly until the fat runs clear and the bits go crisp and golden — that fat is the soup's backbone.
- 26 min
Add 1 chopped onion + 1 sliced leek + 2 minced garlic; cook 5 min.
- 34 min
Add 500 g cubed potato; cook 3 min.
- 42 min
Pour in 2 L beef stock + 2 bay leaves + 1 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp pepper.
- 526 min
Simmer 25 min until potato is tender.
- 69 min
Add 500 g trimmed fresh green beans (cut in 3-cm pieces); cook 8 min.
Watch outAdd the green beans late and pull them while still bright and squeaky-crisp; long cooking greys them out and kills the snap.
- 72 min
Stir in 150 ml crème fraîche + 2 tbsp chopped parsley + 1 tsp savory.
Watch outStir the crème fraîche in off the heat; if the pot's still boiling it splits into grainy specks.
- 81 min
Taste; adjust salt.
- 91 min
Serve hot in deep bowls with crusty bread.
