flipGarbure Bigourdane
Garbure Bigourdane
Why this dish? Théophile was born in Tarbes in 1811, in the heart of Bigorre. Before the splendor of Parisian restaurants, it was this thick peasant soup, where cabbage and confit simmer for hours, that nourished the Gascon tables of his childhood.
A substantial soup-meal, almost a pot-au-feu, where winter vegetables, beans, and a piece of duck confit cook together until they form a nourishing broth. Stale bread is dipped into it: a whole meal in a single terrine.
Imagine, dear reader, that I was born in the shadow of the Pyrenees, in Tarbes, where one does not trifle with the pot. In our home, garbure is not a soup, it is an institution: the cabbage embraces the bean, the confit melts its perfumed fat, and the spoon must stand upright like a sabre. We let it sing on the corner of the hearth all morning, and we throw in yesterday's bread, for nothing is wasted in Gascony. Believe me, after such a bowl, one has in one's belly enough to defy the wind of the autan.
- •Curly green cabbage — half a cabbage (base vegetable)
- •Duck confit leg — one large piece (meat and perfumed fat)
- •White beans (Tarbais) — a good handful, soaked (starch)
- •Potatoes — a few (rustic binder)
- •Carrots, turnip, leek — as desired (aromatic garnish)
- •Garlic and thyme — to taste (flavoring)
- •Stale bread — a few slices (thickener)
Garbure Bigourdane
A substantial soup-meal, almost a pot-au-feu, where winter vegetables, beans, and a piece of duck confit cook together until they form a nourishing broth. Stale bread is dipped into it: a whole meal in a single terrine.
Why this dish? Théophile was born in Tarbes in 1811, in the heart of Bigorre. Before the splendor of Parisian restaurants, it was this thick peasant soup, where cabbage and confit simmer for hours, that nourished the Gascon tables of his childhood.
Imagine, dear reader, that I was born in the shadow of the Pyrenees, in Tarbes, where one does not trifle with the pot. In our home, garbure is not a soup, it is an institution: the cabbage embraces the bean, the confit melts its perfumed fat, and the spoon must stand upright like a sabre. We let it sing on the corner of the hearth all morning, and we throw in yesterday's bread, for nothing is wasted in Gascony. Believe me, after such a bowl, one has in one's belly enough to defy the wind of the autan.
Ingredients (period version)
- Curly green cabbage — half a cabbage (base vegetable)
- Duck confit leg — one large piece (meat and perfumed fat)
- White beans (Tarbais) — a good handful, soaked (starch)
- Potatoes — a few (rustic binder)
- Carrots, turnip, leek — as desired (aromatic garnish)
- Garlic and thyme — to taste (flavoring)
- Stale bread — a few slices (thickener)
Ingredients
- Curly green cabbage — 1/2 cabbage, sliced (base vegetable)
- Duck confit legs — 2 (meat and perfumed fat)
- Tarbais beans (or lingots) — 200 g, soaked overnight (starch)
- Potatoes — 3 medium (rustic binder)
- Carrots — 2 (garnish)
- Turnip and leek white — 1 each (garnish)
- Garlic — 3 cloves (flavoring)
- Thyme, bay leaf — 1 bouquet (flavoring)
- Rustic country bread — 4 slices (thickener)
Method
- The night before, soak the beans in cold water.
- Cook the drained beans in a large pot of water with garlic, thyme, and bay leaf for about 1 hour.
- Add sliced cabbage, carrots, turnip, and leek in pieces; simmer for 30 min.
- Retrieve a little fat from the duck confit legs and pour it into the soup; add the potatoes, cook 20 min.
- Shred the duck confit meat, add it at the end to warm through.
- Season with salt sparingly (the confit is already salted), pepper, and serve very hot over slices of stale bread in the bottom of a deep bowl.
How it was made : In Gascon farms, garbure simmered all day by the fire and was eaten in several services: first the broth over bread, then the vegetables and meat. They finished with the 'goudale': a little broth mixed with a dash of red wine drunk straight from the plate.
The contemporary twist : Serve the broth separately in a cup, as an emulsified 'garbure cappuccino', and the shredded meat arranged on a grilled garlic-rubbed bread slice.
Théophile Gautier · Charactorium
