1 ham bone and ham trimmings
1 pound Great Northern beans
1 large or two small onions, diced
2-3 ribs of celery, diced
2-3 carrots, sliced into "coins"
2 cans Ro-Tel diced tomatoes with green chilis
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp white pepper (to taste) (can use black pepper if you don't have white
1/2 teaspoon ground Ancho chili pepper if you have it
dried savory, 1 tsp
Herbs de Provence, approx 1 tsp
First, make the ham stock. Cut as much "good" ham as you can off of the bone and put back in the fridge. Put the ham bone in a large pot or kettle, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so the water is just simmering. Simmer for about 2 hours.
When the broth seems ready -- the ham that was still on the bone should be about to fall away -- remove the bone and any "used up" pieces of ham that may have come away. (This can be done in advance and the broth refrigerated overnight, then brought back to a simmer when you're ready to proceed.)
Rinse the beans and inspect them, getting rid of any stones or other trash and any beans that are discolored. Add them to the simmering broth. Cook until tender, about an hour. Test by removing a bean from the pot and seeing if you can easily smash it with the back of a spoon.
Meanwhile, wash and chop the celery, carrots and onion. Saute them in a bit of oil and butter, seasoning with a little salt, but not too much at this stage, because ham is usually pretty salty!
When beans are tender, add the sauteed vegetables, the diced tomatoes with chili, the herbs, and the ham that you rescued earlier from the bone. Taste and season with salt if needed, and peppers to taste.
Notes: This soup as I made it is not as thick as typical bean soup, although that will depend partly on how much water you use to make the broth and how much broth you use to make the soup! If the soup is thicker than you'd like, just add more water!
The canned diced tomatoes with green chili really add the zing, but if you don't like that, go with regular canned tomatoes.
Cornbread makes a nice accompaniment. You could, of course, add frozen corn or other veggies of your choice.
Posts
