A Twist on a German Recipe for Buttermilk Soup

I added fish to a German recipe for Buttermilk Soup with green beans and potatoes. In Germany, you can call the original: Bohnensuppe mit Buttermilch.

Mine became a Buttermilk Soup with Potatoes and Fish and Green Beans, because I was looking for a way to use up some buttermilk, and some cod that I had on hand. I found recipes for chowder made with buttermilk that called for several kinds of fish.  I found recipes for fish soup without buttermilk.  Then I spotted the Bohnensuppe mit Buttermilch, and thought, Why not?

Unlike most of my food posts, you are seeing no illustration here.  White soup with white potatoes and white fish just is not the most photogenic dish in the world. Besides, we ate it too quickly to take pictures.

 

German Buttermilk Potato Fish Soup

Serves 6
Prep time 5 minutes
Cook time 15 minutes
Total time 20 minutes
Allergy Fish, Milk
Meal type Soup
Misc Child Friendly, Serve Hot
Website Kitchen Project
A traditional buttermilk soup recipe from a website is adapted by adding fish.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup raw green beans (Stem and cut bite-size)
  • 4 cups Red or yellow potatoes (Peel unless thin-skinned, chop into bite size pieces)
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 teaspoons ginger, grated
  • 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
  • salt and pepper
  • 3/4-1lb cod or other firm fish (cut in 1" pieces)

Optional

  • medium onion (chopped)

Directions

1. Cook the potatoes and ginger in the broth until tender. (If using onions, add them and cook a few minutes.
2. Using a slotted spoon, take potatoes out and put in blender or food processors (or a bowl is you are using a stick blender). Puree until smooth.
3. Meanwhile, cook the green beans in the stock you used for potatoes, just until barely tender. Blend in the potato puree and cook 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the buttermilk and dill. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add chunks of fish and cook another 5 minutes, until fish is done through, but not overcooked.
6. Serve with a sprinkle of paprika or a sprig of dill on top.

Note

The German name for buttermilk soup with green beans and potatoes is Bohnensuppe mit Buttermilch

I took several liberties with the recipe I found on the Kichen Project website.

The biggest change is that I added fish, which is not part of the original recipe. I also reduced the quantity of green beans to compensate for the added bulk of the fish, and more than doubled the amount of chicken broth (they called for chicken stock). If you follow their recipe exactly, I believe you will have more of a stew than a soup, and definitely the taste emphasis will be on the green beans.

The recipe specifies waxy potatoes like red, yellow or Yukon gold (my favorite for cooking). You don't want to use baking potatoes in soup because they will just fall apart and you won't get the nice smooth base that you get by pureeing the other kinds.

I freeze fresh ginger root so I always have it on hand. That makes it easy to grate into recipes and it lasts a very long time. If you do not have fresh ginger root, use powdered ginger, but cut the amount by about a third.

The original recipe also suggests adding a dash of hot sauce, which would be okay, but I wanted the ginger and dill flavors to predominate, so left it out.

It made a delicious fish soup, but I'm sure would also be delightful with just green beans and potatoes.

 

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About Vera Marie Badertscher

I am a grandma and was named for my grandma. I've been an actress, a political strategist and a writer.I grew up in various places, went to high school in Killbuck, Ohio and graduated from Ohio State University. My husband and I moved to Arizona after graduation and have three adult children. I love to travel and read. I ponder family as I cook. Look for my DNA profile on Ancestry.

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