Ham and Bean Soup
Post Christmas...I have a hambone, so of course I'm thinking SOUP!!
In typical fashion I browsed some recipes, including one from my friend Jeannine, and one from my cousin Kelly...then I just started creating my own version.
I started by stripping the hambone pretty clean and then I put it in a pan of water with some crushed garlic, chopped celery, Rosemary, dried or fresh lime zest, and some fresh cilantro.
Next, I sautéed some chopped onion with a bit of red pepper flakes.
One of the recipes had included escarole...I used spinach instead!
'Threw it in on top of the onions to wilt.
Into the pot it went...simmer away soup...simmer away!
(Covered, on LOW, hours...)
Let's see...what else do I have in the crisper drawer???
Carrots!
oooo...radishes will add a little zip!
Mushrooms sound good!
Oranges? Nah, just kidding...I needed a snack! LOL
So, here's my school of thought...
I pick the bone well before I start the soup (chicken and turkey too).
Then, as the bone simmers, what meat is left lends it's flavor to the broth. I find the meat on the bone
rather tasteless and bland after, so instead of simmering a short time and stripping the meat for the soup, I simmer it a long time and then discard the whole bone (all the flavor left in the broth) and
and use the meat I had set aside.
Also...
at this point it was bed time. I cooled the broth over night and skimmed off the fat in the morning...
I know the fat makes it flavorful, but I needed healthier! (and there was very good flavor anyway!)
Warmed the soup again, added the ham
(what was in the bag is what I had set aside for soup)
and several cans of beans!
I rinsed all the beans well to reduce the salt. I also used my immersion blender to
puree some of the soup with the tomatoes and the larger beans--pintos and butter beans.
(My family doesn't particularly care for large beans in their soup.)
It gives the soup a nice thick consistency and flavor.
Mmmm....simmered until dinner (no lid so it reduces slightly)
Some toppings??
Kris's Ham and Bean Soup:
Strip hambone and set aside meat to add to soup later
Place bone in deep pan with water and seasonings of choice:
crushed fresh garlic
Rosemary
lime zest
fresh chopped cilantro
Add veggies etc...
Diced celery (with leaves)
chopped carrots
chopped radishes
diced mushrooms
Sautee and add:
diced onions
red pepper flakes
baby spinach
Cover and simmer on LOW until well flavored (couple hours)
Remove bone (optional add in any meat from bone that has retained flavor-sometimes there is some deep between the bones that is still worth adding)
Cool until fat floats to top and solidifies.
Skim off fat with a flat spoon and discard.
Remove a portion of the soup and puree with low salt diced tomatoes, a can of pinto beans and a can of butter beans (or Great Northern beans)- Rinse beans well to reduce salt.
Warm soup and add ham previously set aside.
Add rinsed Small White Beans and Black Beans.
Simmer uncovered to reduce.
Serve with grated cheese and sliced green onions. (Hot sauce and crackers optional)
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