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Bruine bonensoep
Brown bean soup
Bruine bonensoep: Dutch brown bean soup with celery, leek and onion
Bruine bonensoep is a Dutch winter staple, simmered in homes from Groningen to Zeeland on dark evenings between November and March and eaten with thick slices of rye bread. Brown beans are cooked with onion, leek, celery and carrot, then about half of the pot is blended, so the soup is velvety but still full of whole beans. Many families add bacon or smoked sausage; this version is vegetarian and vegan, with smoked paprika and a little soy sauce standing in for the smoky, savoury depth. A bowl gives about 22 g of protein from the beans. Brown beans are a type of kidney bean, so after soaking for 12 hours (not counted in the times) they must boil hard for 10 minutes. The most common mistake is blending the whole pot, which turns it into a heavy purée with no texture. Chef's tip: a pinch of ground cloves with the bay leaf gives the old-fashioned Dutch flavour.
- Total time
- 100 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 14 oz dried brown beansor borlotti beans, soaked in cold water for 12 hours
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 onionschopped
- 1 leekwashed and sliced
- 2 celery stickssliced
- 1 carrotdiced
- 2 garlic cloveschopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 7 ½ cups water
- 1 tbsp soy sauceuse tamari for gluten free
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepperfreshly ground
- 2 tbsp celery leaves or parsley (optional)chopped
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What you'll need
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Drain 14 oz dried brown beans, put them in a large pot of fresh water and bring to the boil. Boil hard for 10 minutes to destroy the natural toxin in the beans, then drain.
15 minStep 2: In the same pot, warm 2 tbsp sunflower oil over a medium heat and cook 2 onions, 1 leek, 2 celery sticks and 1 carrot for 10 minutes, stirring, until soft and starting to colour.
10 minStep 3: Stir in 2 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp tomato paste and 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Step 4: Add the beans, 2 bay leaves, 1 pinch ground cloves and 7 ½ cups water. Bring to the boil, then simmer, partly covered, for 50–60 minutes, until the beans are very soft and crush easily against the side of the pot.
55 minStep 5: Remove the bay leaves. Ladle about half of the soup into a jug and blend until smooth (or use a stick blender in one corner of the pot), then stir it back in; the soup should be thick and creamy with plenty of whole beans.
Step 6: Season with 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve hot, scattered with 2 tbsp celery leaves or parsley.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 450 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 64 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 22 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bruine bonensoep take?
- About 100 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 80 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- 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 onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of leek?
- 1 onion per leek.
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