Garbure

Garbure is a classic French peasant dish from the south west. There are as many recipes as there are households. Traditionally it was made in a big pot suspended over an open fire on a crémaillere (chimney hook). The pot just stays on the fire all winter, being topped up as the tide lowers periodically. Root vegetables and cabbage were combined with beans and meats to produce a thick nourishing stew. It is impossible to make in small quantities. I made it in a 10 litre boiler and only just got it all in. The quantity will serve 16.

Cheat's confit de canard.

To start ours I first cooked some duck legs. These are lightly cured by rubbing a mixture of salt, herbs and spices into the meat and leaving over night or even over 2 nights. Then they are wrapped in foil and cooked extremely slowly for 4 hours in the oven. After cooking they were put aside to cool. It's easiest to cook them the day before you want to cook and eat the garbure. I've posted the recipe here [link].

Boiling on the stove.

Then diced cured belly pork was fried in the boiler, joined by diced onion and crushed garlic. Once they are soft, add diced root vegetables such as celeriac (celeri rave), carrots (carottes), potatoes (pommes de terre), turnip (navets), swede (rutabaga) and leek (poireau) along with copious quantities of cabbage, a large can of white beans and pieces of meat such as lumps of confit de canard (lightly cured duck that has been poached in oil), shredded chicken meat and roughly chopped gizzards (gésiers) . Tuck in a bouquet garni and cover with stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for an hour.

Simple, satisfying and nutritious.

 

Ingredients

2 duck legs, cooked according to the instructions here [link] and broken up into chunks

1 tbsp vegetable oil or duck fat

350 g cured pork belly, cut into 2cm cubes

2 onions, peeled and diced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 kg of mostly root vegetables (celeriac, carrots, potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, leeks) cleaned, peeled and cut into chunks

A cabbage, washed, stem cut out, and leaves cut into chunks

200 g shredded chicken meat

200 g chicken gizzards, roughly chopped

A large can of white beans

A bouquet garni

3 litres chicken or vegetable stock

Method

1.  Heat the oil in a large boiler and brown the pork belly slightly.
2. Add the onion and garlic and sweat until soft.
3. Add all the other ingredients and bring to the boil.
4. Simmer for an hour.

 

Yum

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