Jump to content

Have I mentioned how much I love ham lentil soup?


Ralphie

Recommended Posts

6 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

My only regret is I had no collards to add.  Those two things go together like PB and chocolate. :)

 

Sounds good. I made a similar soup with smoked ham hocks, barely, carrots, celery & onion and I fortified the stock with some beef stock.

I basically boiled the ham hocks, removed them to pick the meat and then added some beef stock barely & veg.  It was super simple, easy & freaking awesome.

I gave some to my neighbor. A couple of days later his wife was pulling out of the garage as I was pulling in.  She rolled down her window and said that was the best soup she ever had!  It was surprisingly good.

  • Heart 1
  • Awesome 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, ChrisL said:

Sounds good. I made a similar soup with smoked ham hocks, barely, carrots, celery & onion and I fortified the stock with some beef stock.

I basically boiled the ham hocks, removed them to pick the meat and then added some beef stock barely & veg.  It was super simple, easy & freaking awesome.

I gave some to my neighbor. A couple of days later his wife was pulling out of the garage as I was pulling in.  She rolled down her window and said that was the best soup she ever had!  It was surprisingly good.

I shoudl have boiled the ham.  I opted for the crock pot and the meat is not falling off the bone yet like it shoudl be.  I started on low but went to high a few hours ago,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

My only regret is I had no collards to add.  Those two things go together like PB and chocolate. :)

 

 

2 hours ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

My only regret is I had no collards to add.  Those two things go together like PB and chocolate. :)

 

I like the beans bigger than lentils, though the 15-bean mix work in this, my favorite recipe. I tend more to root veggies than greens, too:

Besed on: http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--3032/white-bean-and-ham-soup.asp

White Bean, Potato and Ham Soup Recipe

ham_white_bean_soup.jpg.3c18150e300678ec1e1f072cfb21e9f7.jpg

This is a really good soup similar to some Italian soups.  I’ve made it with “Shady Brook Farms Hickory Smoked Boneless Turkey Ham” and also the traditional way with leftover ham on a ham shank.  It’s fine either way.

It’s about 175 cal. per cup and makes about 5 qts.

For more information, see “Recipe Information” at the end of this recipe.

Ingredients

(also see “Ingredient Notes” after the Directions for tips and options)

16 oz dried Great Northern Beans (or Navy or any similar white bean)

1 medium large sweet onion (about 1 to 2 cups diced)

3 cloves garlic, diced (minced)

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 1/2 qts. chicken broth (or water with 4 chicken bouillon cubes dissolved)

3 bay leaves

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 to 2 lbs (around 4-6 cups) of diced potatoes (I don’t peel them)

2 stalks celery, diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced (or 20-30 baby-cut carrots, cut in halves or thirds)

1 to 2 lb of ham (meat, not including bone)

 

Directions:

1. Soak the beans overnight at room temperature in about 8 cups of cold water (preferred method). Alternatively do a quick soak: place the beans in a pot with 8 cups of hot water and bring it to a rapid boil for two minutes.  Remove from heat, cover, and let it stand for 1 hour.  If your bean package lists different soaking instructions, follow them.  Note that you will drain the soak-water from the beans before added them to the soup.

2. In a sauté pan or a pot that holds at least 5 qts, add the oil and sauté the onions and garlic over medium heat until they are softened and the onions are translucent (about 5 minutes).

3. Add the chicken stock (or bouillon water), the drained beans, the cubed ham (or ham shank), the bay leaves, and cumin to the onions.  Bring it to a boil and then cover and simmer for 90 minutes.

4. If using a ham shank, remove it from the soup, place it on a plate and allow it to cool slightly while doing step 6.

5. Add the cut potatoes, carrots and celery to the soup, bring it back to a boil, cover and simmer.

6. If using a ham shank, remove the meat from the slightly cooled bone and cut the removed meat into bite-sized pieces and add back to the soup.  Discard the bone, fat, and any skin.

7. The soup is ready when the beans, potatoes, and carrots, are soft, about 30-45 minutes after the potatoes and carrots are put in the soup.

8. Season with salt, pepper and optionally a tbsp or so of vinegar drizzled on top of a bowl of soup gives it a nice kick.

Ingredient Notes:

Normally a cooked, leftover ham shank is used and, after the beans and ham have been cooking in the broth for about an hour, the meat is pulled off the bone and cut into bite-sized pieces.  But the inexpensive and healthy “turkey ham” or any boneless or canned ham, cut into bite-sized cubes, will work just fine.

I tried this recipe with 8 oz. of dry beans, but while the soup tastes fine, there aren’t enough beans to make it a real “bean” soup.  16 oz. of dry beans does the trick.

Some recipes I’ve seen use canned white beans, which eliminates soaking them overnight and simmering for 90 minutes.  If you do so, I fear you won’t get the great flavor from the beans that the overnight-soaked beans contribute to the broth.  If you use canned beans, make sure you add the liquid from the cans to the broth.  And 16 oz. of dry beans are equal to 3-4x their weight in canned beans and so are much less expensive in addition to being taste-preferred.

A couple similar recipes I looked at used 1 tbsp herbs de Provence or dry Italian seasoning (add to the pot at step 3 above).  I didn’t use any, but either one would add an interesting flavor and aroma.

Some recipes add diced tomatoes (one or two 14.5 oz cans, or the equivalent in freshly diced tomatoes) to the recipe (last 15 minutes of cooking), but I didn’t try it because I didn’t want to mask the real ”bean soup” character.

Of course, virtually any green veggies you have left over, or frozen “veggies for soup” can be added – small stuff in the last 15 minutes of cooking.  The main consideration should be to not overwhelm the beans, which give the soup its character.

The original recipe called for 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper, but I prefer to add those seasonings, as needed, to the bowl when eating the soup.

Recipe Information

Judging from similar recipes on www.food.com (a great recipe site that lists nutritional info with the recipes) this soup is about 175 cal per cup.  So you won’t feel as guilty if you eat it with crusty bread, with which it’s excellent, and you can sprinkle cheddar cheese on it too.

The recipe makes about 5 qts. of soup that is almost as thick as a stew, as shown in the photo [my version goes about twice as heavy on the potatoes] and can be cut in half if desired.

The recipe below is basically the recipe, rated 4.5 stars out of 5 by readers, with the potatoes doubled, found at this web site:

http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--3032/white-bean-and-ham-soup.asp

The original recipe placed all the veggies in the soup at the same time as the beans, but since the beans need two hours of cooking to both soften and to flavor the soup broth, I decided to delay adding the celery, carrots, and potatoes until the last 30-45 minutes so they don’t get too soft.

 

 

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...