Mimi Thorisson's Garbure des Pyrénées

All week long, Mimi Thorisson -- the blogger behind the beautiful blog Manger -- will be sharing recipes and stories from her new book, A Kitchen in France. Follow along to win a book + a bundle of Staub cookware each day, so you can pretend like you also live in the French countryside.

Today: Mimi shares her go-to soup for a cold winter's night.

Some encounters are more serendipitous than others. You might work with someone your whole life and never become very close, or you might meet someone once and the encounter has a lasting impact. It could be something that was said, a piece of advice, a shared experience. In my case, it was a recipe.

Bernard Vanderhooven is an antiques dealer I met by chance in Bordeaux. He is a real bon vivant and we got on like a house on fire. His recipe for garbure, a hearty soup studded with chopped vegetables and pork, is simply the most comforting food you can imagine having on a dark winter’s night. When I make it, I sometimes think of Bernard coming into his lavishly decorated apartment after a long cold day at the antiques fair. I imagine him taking off his hat, greeting his cat, pouring himself a nice glass of Bordeaux, and enjoying a bowl of the soup he would have made the night before. I imagine he listens to jazz. Cheers, Bernard. 

Garbure de Pyrénées 

Serves 6 to 8

2 cups dried white beans
2 pounds smoked ham hock
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) rendered duck fat, or extra-virgin olive oil, or unsalted butter
6 carrots, halved crosswise and cut into 1 1/2-inch sticks
5 leeks, white and pale green parts, coarsely chopped
4 onions, quartered
5 garlic cloves, halved
1 medium Savoy cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 small to medium russet potatoes

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photo by Oddur Thorisson

Every day this week, we're giving away a copy of A Kitchen in France and a bundle of Mimi's favorite Staub cookware! To win today's copy, tell us in the comments: What's your go-to soup for cold winter nights? We'll choose winners this Friday, October 31st. (U.S. entrants only, please!) 

Update: Lakelurelady, onetinyspark, Double Helping, TerryKes, and rhubarb! rhubarb! rhubarb! are our winners! Enjoy your copies of A Kitchen in France and Staub cookware.