Garbure (French Ham and Vegetable Stew)

Wow - this was way better than I expected since I'm not a fan of ham and bean soups. I had a ham bone left from a holiday ham and was looking for some kind of soup to make with it that I would like. Since this had good reviews I decided to try it. I made it exactly to the recipe except I used a regular ham bone vs. a ham hock and I used low sodium chicken broth vs. no sodium. It was a little saltier than I would like so no salt broth would probably be better but over all it was still great. I will definitely make this again. As long as you remember to soak the beans ahead of time it was easy enough to make even after work. I had never used turnips or savoy cabbage before so nice to try something new.

Made this for dinner last night and it was way YUMMY! I had a hambone leftover in the freezer, so I used that instead of a ham hock and threw in a handful of green beans I had in the fridge, but otherwise followed the recipe. Threw everything in the slow cooker and went to work. Husband kept saying how delicious it was as he snarfed it down. Served with ciabatta rolls. Definitely delicious and something I'd make again if I had another meaty hambone in the freezer--one ham hock doesn't sound meaty enough for me.

This is a great, hardy soup! I added a bit more of each vegetable and served with fresh baked bread, YUM!

This was a really nice change of pace. I've been making stews and soups all winter to make up for 6 yrs in the tropics when we couldn't eat anything that heavy and really enjoying it. This was just enough off the beaten track of the regular rotation to stand out and loved the european style of tons of veggies, esp the cabbage and turnip. Does make a lot and I doubt it would freeze particularly well, but you do get a couple of meals out of it, which is always a plus. I also drizzeled a bit of EVOO on it, but didn't bother with any cheese.

Tried this recipe upon the recommendation of my sister. Wow...it had a delicious unusual flavor. Used Italien seasoning for the herbs de Provence, skipped the turnips, but added kale. I will definitely make this again!

ajvogt - You may not have peeled your turnips deeply enough. When you cut into the turnip, you will see a line about 1/4 inch under the skin. If you peel beyond this line, the result should be a sweet turnip. Hope this helps!

My review is more about the turnips than the recipe but I thought it might be helpful for someone else. My turnips were extremely bitter and ruin the entire dish. If I made it again I would omit them. It was very dispointing. I am not sure how to avoid bitter turnips. Maybe someone else has some advise?

Absolutely wonderful! I forgot the herbs de Provence so I made without and it was still fabulous. My grocer was out of smoked hamhocks so I used cubed diced ham and it was still excellent. Would be good to double and freeze since it takes a little effort.

Outsanding recipe, super simple to make, and will be definitely coming back this winter to our table as it gets colder. I would also second the recommendation of some Pecorino Romano sprinkled over the soup upon serving.

Excellent, easy, filling, inexpensive stew. I topped each serving with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of romano cheese, which I think really took it up another notch. I'll be making this a lot as the weather gets colder.

Delicious and aromatic. Easy to prepare. A good to soup to make during an afternoon when you have the time since it takes over an hour to cook and the beans have to soak over night.