Ham and Bean Soup
Adapted from: Closet Cooking and All Recipes
This was SO good. The two of us ate two bowls apiece. The "recipe" is kind of loose because I just used what I had and tweaked it as I went along, but this is the basic idea. I started with a ham bone that was frozen after Christmas last year - one of those spiral-cut honey-baked hams. So, the ham I used started with a lot of good flavor. I put the frozen ham bone in the pot and then after it simmered for awhile, I pulled off the bits of ham that were still on the bone. I had intended to add a cubed ham steak that I bought for the soup, but I ended up pulling enough ham off the bone that I didn't need to add any more. Add as much water as you want, depending on how thin you want the broth, and depending on how salty the broth ends up after you simmer the ham bone.
1 ham bone, fresh or frozen
4 cups chicken stock
2-4 cups of water, to taste
3 bay leaves
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup onions, diced
1 cup celery, diced
3 cups of cooked or canned beans (kidney, white beans, split peas, etc)
2 cups of chopped ham
3-4 small new potatoes,
1-2 tsp mustard powder
Put ham bone in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Pour chicken stock and water over the ham bone. Add bay leaves. Simmer for about 2 hours. Skim broth if necessary. Pick any remaining ham off bone if you have any; add to soup pot. If you don't have enough ham on the bone, add additional chopped ham. Saute carrots, celery and onion in a skillet until just softened; add to soup pot. Add beans (I added half of the beans to the pot whole, and I pureed the other half with the immersion blender to thicken up the soup a bit). Add mustard powder and potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve.
*Notes: I did not add any additional salt or pepper, but you might want to, depending on taste. Someone suggested adding a parmesan cheese rind to the simmering broth for added flavor, but I thought this had plenty of flavor without it.
You could also add some greens (such as kale) to the soup, or cut green beans.
This was SO good. The two of us ate two bowls apiece. The "recipe" is kind of loose because I just used what I had and tweaked it as I went along, but this is the basic idea. I started with a ham bone that was frozen after Christmas last year - one of those spiral-cut honey-baked hams. So, the ham I used started with a lot of good flavor. I put the frozen ham bone in the pot and then after it simmered for awhile, I pulled off the bits of ham that were still on the bone. I had intended to add a cubed ham steak that I bought for the soup, but I ended up pulling enough ham off the bone that I didn't need to add any more. Add as much water as you want, depending on how thin you want the broth, and depending on how salty the broth ends up after you simmer the ham bone.
1 ham bone, fresh or frozen
4 cups chicken stock
2-4 cups of water, to taste
3 bay leaves
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup onions, diced
1 cup celery, diced
3 cups of cooked or canned beans (kidney, white beans, split peas, etc)
2 cups of chopped ham
3-4 small new potatoes,
1-2 tsp mustard powder
Put ham bone in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Pour chicken stock and water over the ham bone. Add bay leaves. Simmer for about 2 hours. Skim broth if necessary. Pick any remaining ham off bone if you have any; add to soup pot. If you don't have enough ham on the bone, add additional chopped ham. Saute carrots, celery and onion in a skillet until just softened; add to soup pot. Add beans (I added half of the beans to the pot whole, and I pureed the other half with the immersion blender to thicken up the soup a bit). Add mustard powder and potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve.
*Notes: I did not add any additional salt or pepper, but you might want to, depending on taste. Someone suggested adding a parmesan cheese rind to the simmering broth for added flavor, but I thought this had plenty of flavor without it.
You could also add some greens (such as kale) to the soup, or cut green beans.
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