Big Batch White Bean And Ham Soup Recipes

SMOKY WHITE BEAN AND HAM SOUP

Steps:

• Quick-soak the beans: Place the beans in a medium pot and cover with 2 to 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and let sit for 1 hour. Drain in a colander.
• Place the drained beans into a 5.5-quart Dutch oven or large pot. Add the water, chicken stock, bay leaves, quartered onion, and ham hocks. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and simmer over low heat until the beans are just tender, about 1 hour (depending on the size of the beans, it could take a bit longer).
• Once the beans are tender, pull out the bay leaves, onion remnants, and ham hocks. Discard the bay leaves and onions, but set the ham hocks aside to cool.
• Add the minced onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes, garlic, thyme, and 2 teaspoons of salt to the pot. Increase the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. While the soup is cooking, and when the ham hocks are cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the hocks, discard any bone, fat, and tough sinew, and chop the meat finely.
• Use a ladle to transfer about 2 cups of the beans and vegetables, along with a bit of broth, to a blender or food processor. (If using a blender, be sure to remove the center knob on the lid and cover with a dishtowel to avoid splatters.) Purée until smooth, and then stir the mixture back into the soup. Add the meat and kale to the soup and simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes more. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, if necessary (I usually add about 1 teaspoon more; beans require a lot of salt to bring out their flavor). At this point, you can serve the soup or refrigerate it for up to 3 days. (It will thicken up in the fridge; thin it with a bit of water, if necessary.)
• When you're ready to eat, garnish each bowl with a drizzle with olive oil (if using) and a heap of grated cheese.
• Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. through.

BIG BATCH WHITE BEAN AND HAM SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse white beans in a strainer under cool water, being sure to discard any discolored or damaged beans.
• Place rinsed beans in a large kettle with stock and ham bones; bring to a boil.
• Once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for two to three hours or until the beans are tender.
• While beans are simmering, prepare the onion and carrots.
• After two to three hours of simmering, stir the onion, carrots, and pepper into the beans. Cover and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
• Combine cold water and flour in a separate bowl until smooth and then gradually stir into soup until thickened.
• Cook for an additional 10 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add additional water until you've reached your desired consistency. Recipe Source: Jene Cain, Northridge, California. This recipe came to us from Jene Cain from Northridge, CA who obviously has some experience cooking for a crowd. Reprinted with permission.

WHITE BEAN AND HAM BONE SOUP

Steps:

• Combine ham bone and 4 quarts of water in a large stock pot of Dutch oven at least the night before. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 12 hours.
• In the meantime, place beans in a large pot with water to cover; soak overnight. Drain beans the next day and return to the pot.
• Remove ham bone from the pot and pick off any edible meat. Strain the stock and measure out 3 quarts for the soup. Remaining stock can be frozen.
• Pour 3 quarts of stock over the soaked beans. Add ham, celery, carrots, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover, tilting the lid to allow steam to escape, and simmer until beans are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add sherry in the last 30 minutes of cooking and season with salt and pepper.
• Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

HAM AND WHITE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Soak the dry beans: Fill a pot large enough to hold the beans with water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the beans and soak for about 2 hours. Drain the water.
• Simmer the ham: While the beans are soaking in step 1, put the ham shanks or ham hocks in a separate large pot and cover them with 2 quarts of water. Add the herbes de Provence or Italian seasoning. Warm on high heat until the water comes to a simmer, then lower the heat, partially cover and maintain the simmer for about an hour.
• Sauté the onions: Heat olive oil in a small sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until translucent, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook a minute more.
• Add vegetables and beans to the ham broth: Once the ham hocks or shanks have been simmering for an hour, add the drained soaked beans from step 1, the cooked onions and garlic, and the chopped celery and carrots.
• Simmer the soup: Cook for another 40 minutes or so, uncovered, until the vegetables are soft and the ham meat easily pulls away from the bone. Remove the ham bones from the soup and pull off any meat and return it to the soup. Discard the bones.
• Season to taste: Add several drops of Tabasco to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a pinch of chopped fresh parsley.

BASIC HAM AND BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse the beans, sorting out any broken or discolored ones. In a large pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and the beans and remove from heat. Let beans sit in the hot water for at least 60 minutes.
• After the 60 minutes of soaking, return the pot to high heat and place the ham bone, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, mustard and bay leaves in the pot. Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 60 more minutes.
• Remove ham bone and discard. Stir in the chopped ham and simmer for 30 more minutes. Season with ground white pepper to taste.