This classic Hungarian Bean Soup is so delicious in it’s creaminess and the beans are slightly crunchy and with the fresh dill sets it apart from most bean soup recipes. A perfect lovely summer soup that can be served warm or cold!
When fresh green and yellow strings bean are plentiful, it’s time to make this simple delicious Hungarian string bean soup flavoured with sweet paprika, sour cream and dill. It’s one of those soups you can thoroughly enjoy cold. It brings back memories when Mom would make a few times in the summer months, so if you didn’t want to eat it hot, allowing the soup to cool down was how it can be enjoyed! 🙂
WHAT MAKES THIS SOUP SO DELICIOUS
When the yellow and green string beans are in season, it goes without saying, the beans taste so much better when you can buy them local or even better when you have a garden large enough to grow them yourself. I remember picked beans on our family farm and we had a few rows of them. We thoroughly enjoyed them, especially when Mom would make this delicious creamy Hungarian soup.
To create this delicious creamy texture in this soup, is making a roux and then adding sour cream. It gives it a bit of a tangy flavour and yet when the fresh dill is adds a fresh sweetness to balance the flavours, making it so yummy!
HELPFUL TIPS
Beans: select fresh string beans, so avoid any wilted or soft rubbery beans. I decide to use both green and yellow, however, choosing one or the other is often made that way.
Dill: using fresh is the best choice for this soup to get the full fresh dill flavour.
Roux: when preparing the roux, it’s important to not add it directly into the soup. I recommend to add some of the liquid from the soup, about 2-3 ladles into the skillet, whisking until the roux starts to thicken. Then remove from the heat and add it to the soup, whisking until the soup has a smooth creamy texture.
Sour cream: gives this soup it’s richness and creaminess. Again, adding some of the liquid from the soup into the sour cream mixture helps to create the smooth and even creaminess to this soup. Adding enough of the liquid, reducing the heat and whisking is helpful to prevent the sour cream from curdling.
SOUR CREAM VS YOGURT
I have made this recipe with sour cream, the original way I was taught by my mother and Grandmother. Often times, we think Greek plain yogurt can be substituted for sour cream and yes it can in many recipes. However, I have experienced adding yogurt to this soup and here are the results.
By replacing sour cream with yogurt to this soup, the creamy consistency I am use to isn’t the same. It’s lighter in texture and not as creamy, since yogurt is made from milk where sour cream is made from cream. You can very easily add yogurt to this soup if you like. When I make a recipe for the first time, I always like to know what I can expect as a result.
With this recipe, above is the soup I added plain Greek yogurt and as you can see the texture is lighter in it’s creaminess. It is still creamy but not as creamy as when sour cream is added.
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
Prep ingredients: This soup only requires a few ingredients, so begin with chopping onions, rinsing off the dill and washing and slicing the beans, trimming off the end that attaches to the bean plant, and leaving the the pointed end. Cut them one-inch in length diagonally.
Cooking instructions: Once the onions are sauté and transparent, add the water, beans, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 20-25 minutes until the beans are tender but yet still have a bit of a crunch. Making the Roux: Melt butter and stir in flour and paprika. Add ladles of soup broth until smooth and creamy.
Slowly whisk in the roux into the soup. Reduce the heat and prepare the sour cream mixture by adding some of the soup liquid to the sour cream. This will help to avoid the sour cream from curdling.
The texture should be a creamy consistency and the beans should not be overly soft, but still have a bit of a crunch. Add more dill if you so desire, and I tend to add more as a garnish.
STORING: This soup will keep up to 4 days in the fridge, covered with a lid. We haven’t had the need to freeze this soup as we have always ate it up in a day or two. My experience with freezing creamy liquid, it tends to separate. For that reason, I would warm it and serve it warmed rather than the option of serving it cold. The texture of the beans will be softer.
SERVING
It is such a simple soup that offers a lot of flavour with only a few ingredients to be enjoyed as a first course or a lunch with a European crusty bread.
Did you make this soup…….. I would love to hear your comments, suggestions and recommendations
Hungarian String Bean Dill Soup ( Sárga and Zöld Bableves)
Equipment
- medium-large soup pot
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (safflower/sunflower)
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
- 4 cups green and yellow string beans, cut diagonally (1 inch or 2.5 cm long)
- 5 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 4 tbsp sprigs of dill, chopped (extra for garnishing)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 ladles liquid from the soup
- 1 sprig of fresh dill for garnishing
Roux:
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 1/2 cup soup broth
Instructions
- In a medium-large stock pot, heat vegetable oil, and sauté chopped onions for about 2-3 minutes, until they are transparent, add garlic (if using) and sauté for another minute. Then add beans, water, salt and black pepper and bring to a boil then reduce heat. Simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until the beans are tender. Then add the dill.
- Roux: using a medium skillet, over medium heat, add melt butter, add flour, sweet paprika and whisk until well combined. Then add ladles of the soup broth, and whisk until smooth. Then slowly add to the soup, and whisking at the same time.
- In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and a couple of ladles at a time up to about 1/4 cup of the hot liquid from the soup. This will help to avoid the sour cream from curdling when adding it into the soup. Then add the sour cream mixture to the soup and bring soup to a slow boil. Whisking until all ingredients are combined and simmer for about 3-5 minutes until soup thickens, and you should have a smooth creamy consistency.
- This soup is very tasty served hot or cold with crusty bread. Garnish with fresh dill, chopped scallions and sour cream if desired.
My mother always added some vinegar to the soup. Other than that, a great dish.
Hello Evie,
I remember my mother did the same. It does add a tangy flavour which tends balance the creaminess in this soup. I will definitely add vinegar the next time I makes this soup:)
Thank you for comment and rating!
Rose
My Mom always added the Vinegar to the Green Bean soup.
I learned the old way of cooking from her, but even using the same ingredients mine never tasted exactly the same.
Hi Audrey,
Yes, vinegar was often added to this soup. My Grandmother and Mom would add it to this soup. In my experience, learning from my Mom and Grandma, they would always cook and bake keeping in mind the texture, taste and how it looks, no recipes needed.
Thank you for your comment.
Rose
Just like my grandma from Austria made (my grandfather was from Hungary. We just add some white vinegar when it served. So yummy! Thanks for posting this!!
Hi Lindsay,
It is such a delicious soup! I know my Grandmother and Mom would often add vinegar as well. I will definitely need to add it next time I make it.
Thank you so much for the rating and comments. I appreciate it!
Rose
Great tasting soup. I did add a garlic clove because I love garlic. Best of all it’s vegetarian.
Hi Rita,
Thank you for your comment and rating! Growing up eating this delicious soup is one of our favourite Hungarian soups!
Rose
Really easy and delicious. The beans stayed crisp and the broth was dill-y wonderful.
Hi Joanne,
I am so pleased you enjoyed this soup! Thank you for your rating and comment.
Rose