A Fortifying Soup From the French Mountains

Garbure, thick with smoked ham, white beans, and slow-cooked vegetables, draws rich flavor from humble ingredients

Recipes for garbure vary widely—depending on the season, region, and individual cook—but always include cabbage, beans, potatoes, and preserved meat. Audrey Le Goff

When cooking a pot of garbure, your ladle is your timer. Stick the ladle in the middle of the pot, and if it can stand upright on its own, the soup is ready.

Hailing from the southwestern province of Gascony, just north of the Pyrenees mountains, garbure is a rustic soup consisting of a smoked ham hock, beans, cabbage, and seasonal vegetables, all slowly stewed together until thick, rich, and full of smokey flavor. It’s a great classic of French mountain cooking, eaten year-round but best enjoyed on a blustery winter day.