Bean and Ham Soup
Bean and Ham Soup
ingredients
2 tsp. olive or vegetable oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 1/2 cups of cooked diced ham (+ ham bone, if you have one)
1 1/2-2 cups dry navy beans (or 3 small cans of white/navy beans)
4 cups of chicken stock or 4 cups water + chicken bouillion cubes/paste
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 bay leaf
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Salt to taste, only if needed (taste before serving and only add salt at that point if needed. Ham and stock is very salty to begin with and so additional salt may not be needed).
method
The night before or at least 3 hours before, add dry beans to a large bowl and add enough water to cover. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let soak at room temperature. Drain and set aside.
*If you have a left-over ham bone, add to a separate large pot with enough water to cover, bring to a boil and simmer for an hour or so. Strain liquid off and use in the soup. You can add the bone directly to the soup, if you prefer, but it's hard to stir the soup with that large a bone in it and some nasty bits or bones might sneak into your soup. I prefer to boil it separately and use that stock in my soup.
Heat large dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil, onions, carrots and celery. Cook until tender. Add diced, cooked ham and stock (or water or ham stock from pre-boiling the left-over bone). Add bay leaf, tomato paste and pre-soaked or canned beans. Stir while soup comes up to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are tender. (You may need to add a bit more water or stock, as the beans soak up the liquid).
Remove bay leaf. Using a potato masher, mash some of the beans slightly (not all of them, just enough to thicken up the soup). Taste soup. If you used water in the soup, you will probably want to add a chicken bouillon cube or two to the soup for flavour. Stir to dissolve. Add salt, only if needed (taste first) and freshly ground pepper.
Cook soup an additional 30 minutes over low heat. Serve and enjoy!
http://www.fortysomething.ca/2010/04/bean_and_ham_soup.php