Winter #WFPB Bean Soup Extravaganza 006d Dutch Brown Bean Soup

 Bruine Bonensoep, folks. That's the Dutch name. Here they are.

These were organic beans from Albert Heyn in the Netherlands. Not available in the USA. The only thing I could find here was HAK bruine bonen in a jar,  but I prefer to cook with the dried beans.

Inevitably the recipe has been evolving during this test run, and I am going to make it a few more times to really stabilize it.

The Final Recipe (for now)

Bruine Bonen Soep - Reference

The purpose of this recipe was to make a comparison of the taste of different beans, based purely on keeping everything else the same.
I tried red kidney beans, pinto beans, roman/borlotti/Cranberry beans, and this time bruine bonen from Holland.
Also take note of the site https://bruinebonensoep.com and http://www.bruinebonenbende.nl

Source for the precursor to this recipe (as you will see, I have much expanded and altered it, though arguably in the same style): View on thedutchtable.com

The bottom line is the Dutch beans are creamier than the others, and make a better soup, but on the whole, I think the differences are very small, and that became evident from the ratings from various taste testers.

Ingredients

===the substance===
1 lb cups of Roman beans (Borlottib beans, Cranberry beans), or Pinto beans, or Red Kidney beans, or, but of course, Dutch Bruine Bonen), dry
1 strip of kombu for soaking overnight
1 tbsp summer savory for cooking the beans
12 Oz block of baked seitan (kao fu) or alternatively a cup of TVP (Soy chunks).
1/2 lb of barley
===The Base===
1 tbsp of Tianjin vegetables
3 medium size yellow onions, cut-up fine
3 shallots or other small onion
6-10 cloves of medium sized cloves of garlic, minced
1-3 toes of turmeric, minced or 1 tbsp of turmeric powder3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 cup water with 1 tsp of Yondu for sautéing the onions and peppers
2-3 Thai chili, green
1-2 jalapeños, cut-up fine
1 green bell pepper
1 tbsp of ground annato seeds
1 tsp smoked paprika (?)
===The Veggies===
1 leek, washed and sliced fine
3 bay leaves
1 cup of eddo.
3 stalks of celery, including leaves
2-3 red skin potatoes, washed and diced,
2-3 carrots peeled & diced
other root vegetables as might be around, turnips, parsnips, etc.
2 tomatoes, or a 15- Oz can of diced tomatoes
3 sprigs of thyme, fresh if you can
2 quarts of veggie broth, or water with Vegetable Better Than Bouillon or similar. More water as needed.
1 tbsp of either miso or gochujang at the end to finish the taste mild with miso or hot with gochujang

Preparation

• Soak the beans overnight (minimum 6 hours ideally).
• Drain the beans and cook with water, including the kombu, and savory in the Instant Pot on high for 10 mins.
• Meanwhile, cut up the onions fine and dry roast for 5 mins at 350F (Medium High) - until the edges start to brown, but before they stick to the pot.
• Add in the minced garlic, minced shallots and chilis, pepper and turmeric and stir fry it for another five mins, adding about 1 cup of water with Yondu.
• Add in the cooked beans and let it simmer together for 15 mins.
• In a separate pot, add the veggie broth and slowly bring it to a boil and turn it down to a slow simmer.
• Add in the barley, the cut-up veggies, potato, tomato, thyme and seitan and allow to simmer until veggies being to get soft.
• Add in the beans + the base of onions and allow to simmer another 30 mins or longer
• Add more water to gain right consistency and finish the taste with miso (mild) or gochujang (hot & spicy).
• You can make the soup thicker by pureeing half with an immersion blender, while leaving the other half alone, so you can still see some beans and some chunks of vegetable floating in the soup.
• Note, if you have people who want it milder, go to the low end with the hot peppers, i.e. 2 chilis, 1 jalapeño. That is just enough for a hint. I then finish it in two batches, one with miso, and from that I put aside an amount for the "mild" customers and one with gochujang for the customers who like it spicy. Then, after I set aside enough "mild" soup, I combine the two. The Gochujang elevates the spicy nature and the miso adds the deep aroma.

=========================================================================

That is it. End of the soup challenge for the winter of 2021.

I will make the recipe a few more times, but the above is my conclusion sofar. I was particularly happy that I found a ways to easily accomodate a few people who like it a bit milder than what I prever.

Conclusion

As to my preference for the bean varieties which I tried, it is as follows.

1. Dutch Bruine bonen - they seem to be the creamiest.
2. Roman beans, aka Borlotti beans, aka Cranberry beans, aka Roman beans, aka Cargamanto beans - these run a close second
3. Pinto beans. Well known from radio and TV. These make a very credible soup also.
4. Rec Kidney Beans. For a long time, I use to thing these were a direct equivalent to the Dutch original, but no. These make a decent soup, but #2 and #3 above are closer to the original, so in a way, Red Kidney Beans would be my last choice.