Shelly's Recipe

HAM AND BEAN SOUP

Category: Soups

To make the Ham Stock:
Ham Bone
10-12 cups cold water
1 medium onion, roughly chopped (onion trimmings and skin too)
4 cloves of garlic, smashed (just give them a good whack to make them split open)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried parsley

To make the Soup:
1 pound dried beans - pre-soaked overnight, or quick-soaked as directed below
1 large onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
8 cups ham stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dried parsley, divided
3 cups leftover ham, diced into bite-size pieces (about 1 pound)
Salt to taste (don't add until serving)

This entire soup can be ready in as little as 3 hours. Start by placing your ham bone in a stock pot and cover it with 10-12 cups of cold water. Add the onions, garlic, parsley, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until the quick soaking process for the beans (next step) is done (60-90 minutes).

Skip this step if you thought ahead and soaked your beans in cold water overnight. Otherwise, it's time to pre-cook your dried beans. Rinse in cold water and remove any icky looking beans, stems, small stones, etc. Place the beans in a pot large enough so they can be covered with 2-inches of cold water. Bring to a boil, turn off heat, cover, let beans soak for 1 hour, drain, reserve. The beans should have swelled quite a bit and should be softening, although they're not ready to be eaten yet.

To proceed with the recipe, in a 6-quart or larger soup pot, saute the onions and carrots in a tablespoon of olive oil until softened and edges start to caramelize. Add the reserved beans, 8 cups of ham stock, bay leaf, thyme, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of dried parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a gentle roll and cook for 1-2 hours, or until the beans are soft and creamy; stirring occasionally.

Add leftover ham and remaining dried parsley (1 tablespoon); heat cook for a few minutes more until the ham is heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a big hunk of chewy bread. Serves 6-8

Note - 1 pound of dried beans equals about 3-4 cans of rinsed and drained beans. Unused ham stock can be frozen and saved for another batch of bean soup, or you can use it to cook beans and store them in your freezer for future use.