Bouneschlupp (Green Bean Soup)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups fresh green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces (about a pound)
• 2 cups waxy potatoes, cleaned and medium diced (about two, medium-sized ones)
• A bunch of mustard greens (optional)
• 4 pieces of thickly sliced bacon, diced
• 6 cups of cold water or broth
• 1 medium-sized  carrot, finely diced
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper
• 2 to 3 tablespoons sour cream
• Chives, minced
• Sausage (optional). Non-spicy, humble, German-style sausage.

Preparation:

1. In a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, cook bacon bits over medium heat until browned and crispy. If using sausage, throw that in, too, and brown. Drain meat, reserving the fat. Set bacon and sausage aside.
2. Return meat fat to the pot, add carrots and shallot, and cook gently until translucent– about 3 minutes. You’re not looking to give them color, you’re just mellowing them. Add garlic at the end, stir a moment or two, then add beans and potatoes. (If you want your greens blended, add them here)
3. Cover vegetables with cold water or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, covered with a snug lid. Cook until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.
4. Take an immersion blender and process the vegetables until smooth.
5. If you want your mustard greens leafy, add them here, If using sausage, bury it within the Bouneschlupp, and bring them up to warm, maybe 15 min to wilt the greens. 
6. Before serving add sour cream. Though some people prefer to thicken their soup with flour, I find that the starch from the potatoes, plus a little help from sour cream, gives the soup all the body it needs.
7. Remove sausage from pot and slice. Ladle soup into bowls, top with sliced sausage, and sprinkle with chives. 

Serve with crusty bread.

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Original recipe: KQED's Bay Area Bites column, apparently? I had to google a unique phrase to find it, no idea how I got there in the first place

Posted by Jasmine