Famous Bean Soup

Grüne Schauble Suppe

Joyce Hofer’s green bean soup recipe is adapted from the Schmeckfest recipe that feeds 1,000 guests and 250 workers on each of the festival’s four nights.

ham bone (optional)
1/2 gallon water
1/2 lb. smoked ham
2 1/2 to 3 cups potatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 or 4 sprigs summer savory
1/2 cup finely diced or ground carrots
2 cans string beans (16 oz. total) or 1 pound fresh
2 tablespoons sour cream

Cook smoked ham bone or smoked ham in water until tender. The last half hour before serving, add potatoes (cut in 1/2-inch cubes), carrots, onions and summer savory, using a tea strainer hung over the edge of the pot. When the vegetables are tender, add beans, including the juice, and sour cream. May substitute 1 pound of fresh-cut green beans and cream or butter for sour cream. Hofer says the soup is best when allowed to simmer at least an hour, but it can be eaten when completely heated.

Editor’s Note: This story is revised from the March/April 2014 issue of South Dakota Magazine. To order a copy or to subscribe, call (800) 456-5117.  GREEN BEAN SOUP is famous among the German's From Russia Immigrants.