Some people could eat green beans every day, for others it is a day of mourning when they are on the menu. Whichever of those two groups you belong to, it is certain that you will often eat them in the summer months because they are one of the main seasonal foods that we are used to cooking. Beans on a salad or on a lecho with potatoes are probably the most common way of preparation, and when they are young and seasoned with real olive oil, they are a real feast. However, they are still “only” a side dish or dinner prepared in this way, so when we want both beans and the main dish without too much effort, we cook various stews. If you like such dishes, and always add a piece of smoked meat or pancetta to the pods, we have a great recipe. It is a dish on a spoon, but which differs in several interesting details from the way we usually cook.
However, before the recipe, it is good to remember how good green beans are for our body. If they are not your favorite food, you might like them a little more due to the fact that they are less caloric than, for example, peas, but more filling than some other vegetables such as Swiss chard or zucchini. This can be attributed to the fiber in which they abound, and in addition to providing satiety, they are beneficial for the intestinal microflora. Contrary to what many people think, green beans do not have the same amount of protein as beans and are therefore more similar to classic vegetables, but they have valuable vitamins, minerals and antioxidants from the group of carotenoids. And here we come to one misconception that we often hear, namely that nutrients from the pods are lost by cooking. This is true for vitamin C, but vitamins B and K remain, as do minerals and antioxidants. True, part of the nutrients goes into the water in which the green beans are cooked, but this is not a problem with dishes like this for the obvious reason, which is that they are eaten with the liquid in which the vegetables are cooked.
We said it was a green bean stew, but we didn’t describe this dish enough. To begin with, the ingredients are very simple and are green beans, potatoes, onions and smoked sausage. After these basic ingredients come the details that make the difference from dish to dish, and here exactly those details are interesting and under the visible influence of the area from which the dish comes. Namely, a light sprinkling of butter and flour is added to this dish, and when serving, sour cream if desired. Through these two, you can see the French influence, and through the smoked sausages, lots of potatoes and this rustic style of preparation, you can see the German influence. Depending on the house, leeks, carrots, and some celery can be added to the dish, but it is important not to overdo it because the original flavor of the dish is lost, which is based on the taste of smoked sausage and green beans.
You can replace the sausage with a piece of pancetta, and a piece of bread comes in handy with the plate of this dish. And finally, we bothered to say that this dish originates from Luxembourg and is considered a very typical Luxembourgish dish!
Luxembourg bean stew – Bouneschlupp
Ingredients
500 g green beans
300 g of potatoes
30 g of butter
1.5 l of stock
2 smoked sausages
1 onion
2 tablespoons of flour
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of fennel or thyme
sour cream
salt and pepper
Preparation
Finely chop the onion, clean the pods and cut them into pieces 2-3 cm long, and dice the potatoes.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and sauté the onion for about 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir to make a light paste, then gradually pour in the hot stock.
Add the green beans, potatoes, bay leaves and chubar. After about 20 minutes, when the vegetables have softened, add the sausage cut into rings about a finger thick. Cook until the sausage is cooked. Adjust this cooking time to the vegetables and sausage you have, some are semi-finished, some require slightly longer cooking.
Stir in the cream, season with pepper and add salt if necessary.
