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Green Bean Soup with Mint

If you want a little crunch, process the soup without the green beans, then stir them back into the puree before serving. This is best served at room temperature, since heat will dull the mint’s bright flavor

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

1/4 pound bacon, diced, or 2 tablespoons oil or butter
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 quart beef, chicken, or vegetable stock, preferably homemade (page 160 or 162)
1/2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    If you’re using bacon, cook it in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until browned and crisp, then remove from the pan and reserve. Cook the garlic and onion in the same saucepan, adding 2 tablespoons oil or butter if you did not use bacon, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the potato and stock and bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the potato is tender, about 20 minutes.

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, cook the green beans in 2 cups salted boiling water. When tender, remove them from the pot, reserving the cooking liquid.

    Step 3

    Cool the potato mixture and green bean water slightly if time allows (it’s never a good idea to puree boiling hot mixtures if you can avoid it). Place the potato mixture, green beans, green bean liquid, and mint in a blender or food processor. Puree the mixture until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, garnish with the mint and bacon pieces, if desired, and serve.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
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