Oma Pantke's Gruen Bohnen-Eintopf
Submitted by vampysutra
Oma Pantke’s gruene bohnen-eintopf: a traditional German one-pot stew of simmered stewing beef, green beans, and mashed potatoes thickened right in the pot. Grandmother’s comfort cooking for six.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
25 minREADY
1 hrsEintopf translates literally to “one pot," the catch-all German word for the kind of rustic farmhouse stew that built the country on cold evenings. Oma Pantke’s version (gruene bohnen-eintopf, or green bean stew) stays classic: stewing beef simmered low and slow for two hours, canned green beans folded in at the end, and mashed potatoes stirred through to thicken everything into a bowl that stands your spoon up.
The broth is where the flavor lives. Putting the beef in cold liquid (the reserved bean juice, no less) and heating gradually to a simmer gently extracts collagen and richness the way a blast of hot water never will. Two hours of barely-bubbling cook time turns tough stewing beef meltingly tender.
Don’t skip the step of reserving the potato water. As the stew rests and the mashed potato absorbs liquid, it tightens. A splash of starchy potato water loosens it back up without diluting flavor the way plain water would.
Kitchen Tips
- Start the beef in cold bean liquid, not hot. Cold-start beef yields a clearer, better-flavored broth.
- Hold back on salt at the start. The bean liquid, bouillon cube, and reduced broth all add sodium as the stew cooks; over-salting early is the most common way to ruin this dish.
- Trim off gristle and fat when you cut the cooked beef. Tough bits are unpleasant in a stew already loaded with soft potato and bean.
- Mash the potatoes while still hot. Cold potatoes turn gummy when stirred into the stew.
- Finish with a generous crack of black pepper and a pinch of dried marjoram if you have it, very traditional for German eintopfs.
Variations
- Use smoked sausage or bacon in addition to or in place of the stewing beef for a smokier, richer stew.
- Stir in a tablespoon of bacon drippings at the end for an old-fashioned Westphalian touch.
- Finish each bowl with a swirl of sour cream and a handful of chopped parsley for serving.
Ingredients
Directions
Drain beans and use the liquid to boil the meat for about 2 hours at low heat.
Add about 1 to 2 teaspoon of salt (to taste!).
You get a better stock when you put the meat in the cold liquid, heat to boil and then continue cooking slowly.
Peel potatoes and boil until done.
You needn’t add salt because the beef broth will be salty enough.
Reserve the water as well; you may need it to add to the stew when it turns out to thick.
Take the meat out of the broth after two hours and cut it apart.
You should add the lean parts to the stew.
Now add the drained beans. Mash the potatoes and add them as well.
When you are lazy you might use instant potato purée, but that’s not quite as good as the real thing.
Heat the stew while stirring well.
If you consider it too thick add a bit of the reserved potato water.
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