Green Bean Scene

 It's time again for our annual inundation of green beans. During this season we have: the traditional green beans and potatoes, green beans teriyaki, green bean curry, green bean salad, green bean tempura, roasted green beans, and green bean satay. Though I love green beans (ours are actually purple), I eventually tire of the texture of green beans and made up this soup for those times.

Green Bean Soup - French Style 

2 onions, chopped

5-7 garlic cloves, chopped

2 Tbs thyme leaves (use 1 tsp if dried)

1lb potatoes, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

2lbs green beans, trimmed

1/2 c parsley, chopped

6-8 c stock or water

1 lemon, juice and zest

Saute onions, garlic and thyme in oil until the onions are softened. Add and brown potatoes, carrots and celery. Add and simmer green beans, parsley, and stock for ~30 minutes or until green beans are soft. Add lemon juice and zest. Puree soup until smooth. Salt to taste.

Makes ~14 cups.

What makes this "French Style" are the mirepoix, thyme, parsley and lemon. If I had wanted to do "Mexican Style," I would have changed the carrot and celery for some type of chile (probably chipolte since I love them), the thyme for oregano, the parsley for cilantro and the lemon for a lime. The style depends mainly on what mood I'm in, what I have on hand, and which nationality I wish to offend with my generalizations on their cuisine.