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Bouneschlupp, traditional Luxembourg dish

Sometimes the girls want to help me cook (cook, not bake which is an entirely different process I think). It's a good thing, you know, to want to both help and prepare healthy food that they're -hopefully- going to eat afterwards. So if we have time ahead, we do this. You really need a lot of time if they're going to peel, then chop veg and quality control every step of the recipe. They tend to eat up all the carrot peel so I make sure to buy organic ones. You also need to hover like an eagle and make sure no one's going to cut off a phalange or something. Channel your inner angel and muster all your patience too ;-)



In a bid to make them eat veg and try and teach them about the country we live in, we decided to make Bouneschlupp, literally a "gulp of beans". It's a soup made with green beans, potatoes, carrots and sometimes sausage or bacon, but remember we eat mostly vegetarian these days.


It's very easy but I did turn to my Luxembourgish cuisine bible, Koch, Back & Dessertbuch by Ketty Thull, which my friend D. gave me (there's a French version with pictures available now too). It said that every housewife has her own recipe so I made up my own. I don't like green beans to cook for too long otherwise they become dull green and lose their vitamins and most recipes call for a very long cooking time.


The best way is to chop everything really small so that everything cooks fast.
Sauté some onions in butter and oil. Add the carrots  and let them cook a little, before adding the potatoes, beans and vegetable or chicken broth. Make up a roux and add it or serve with some crème fraîche or sour cream.



There you go, a simple, tasty, healthy soup that even children can make and that tastes of Luxembourgish tradition.


You can finish off your dinner with some bread and Kachkéis, or cancoillote, a local spreadable cheese. This really is a matter of personal taste : I personally do not like the stuff although I'll eat even the stinkiest cheese, but Maya has loved it since they made it as a project at her pre-school two years ago.



Comments

Norm said…
I love the idea of cooking with children... although I always found it rather stressful when doing it at school! Perhaps I'll find it easier with just one of my own...?!

The soup looks delicious and healthy.
julie said…
Hi Norm!
I also love the idea but yes it can be really stressful. Just be prepared for a lot of mess ;-)

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