Bibbelsches Bohnesupp

Bibbelsches Bohnesupp belongs to Saarland, late summer into autumn, when the small green beans come in and a pot of potatoes and bacon can feed the table without ceremony. Bibbelsche are the little beans, cut short, not a grand ingredient. Good. The dish knows what it is.

The regions split quickly on green beans. In the north you find Birnen, Bohnen und Speck, beans with pears and bacon. In Saarland and the Palatinate, the pot goes more sour, with potato for body, smoked bacon for the larder, and vinegar at the end. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. Das ist kein Bierzelt.

The one rule is this: the vinegar waits until the beans are tender. Put acid in early and the bean skins tighten, the potatoes stay stubborn, and you stand there wondering why supper is late. Cook the beans soft first with Bohnenkraut, summer savory, because it belongs with beans and keeps the pot from tasting flat. Then sharpen it.

I thicken the soup by crushing a few floury potatoes against the side of the pot, not with a packet and not with a jar. Nicht aus dem Glas. The bacon rind goes in if you have it, because it gives more than it looks like. Weggeworfen wird nichts.