Ham and Bean..

..soup

Best ever ham and bean soup

As promised here is my super, secret, extra, special Ham and Bean Soup.

Cathy's Ham and Bean Soup

2 pounds dry great northern beans or navy beans
1 cup chopped carrots
1 stalk celery chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp mustard powder
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp white ground pepper
 1 cup white wine
1 ham hock (or left over Ham bone)
2 cups chopped ham
3 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
10 sprigs fresh parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme

1.  Soak the beans overnight, be sure to use plenty of water
2.  Drain the beans
3.  In the soup pot, saute the carrots, celery and onion in a bit of olive oil until translucent.
4.  Add the garlic and saute 1-2 more minutes.
5.  Add the mustard powder, bay leaves and pepper, saute for 1-2 minutes
6.  De glaze the pan with the white wine and let it cook for 3-5 minutes
7.  Throw in the ham hock and chopped ham.
8.  Pour in the water and chicken broth and stir gently
9.  Lay the parsley and thyme on top of the liquid and bring to a boil
10.  Reduce the heat, cover and let simmer for 2-3 hours.
11.  Serves 10

Sauteing the veggies and spices

So the first step in making this soup recipe is planning ahead.  The beans turn out the best if you let them soak overnight.  There are ways of re-hydrating the beans faster, but I don't recommend them or use them :)

De-glazing the pan

Although the ingredient list is a bit long, there really isn't that much chopping.  Feel free to adjust the amount of carrots, celery and onion to meet your taste.  I usually add more garlic than is listed in the recipe because I love it.

Time to bring to a boil and let it cook :)

I only make my Ham and Bean Soup when I have purchased a ham from the Honey Baked Ham store.  Check out the blog entry for our first ham dinner.  After we finished eating, I cut all the meat off the bone and chopped it up to make soup.  Make sure to save the bone, it really adds something special to the flavor of the broth.

My recipe makes a big pot of soup, enough to feed my family of 5 twice.

Soups on!

Once the soup is done cooking, I freeze half of it for another night.  If your family is smaller, freeze it in smaller containers and you might get 4-5 meals out of it. 

Dinner is ready :)

Even my picky eaters like this soup, enjoy!