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Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 360 Minutes |
Ready In: 390 Minutes Servings: 8 |
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Ham and bean soup can be a little bland and requires a lot of salt to be palatable, but not so with this version. It is bursting with flavor. Ingredients:
1 pound dried great northern beans, sorted and rinsed |
4 cups water |
1/4 cup celery, chopped |
1 small onion, chopped |
2 bay leaves |
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin |
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder |
1 teaspoon dried parsley |
1 tablespoon butter |
1 tablespoon olive oil |
2 leeks (bulb only), cut in half lengthwise |
1 pound cooked ham, cut into bite-size pieces |
5 slices bacon |
4 cups chicken stock |
1 pinch sea salt to taste |
1 pinch fresh ground black pepper to taste |
Directions:
1. Place the beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Drain and rinse before using.
2. Combine the soaked beans, 4 cups of water, celery, onion, bay leaves, cumin, garlic powder, and parsley into a slow cooker.
3. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir the leeks in the butter mixture until tender and the smaller pieces start to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the leeks to the slow cooker. In the same pan, cook and stir the ham until the edges start to brown; stir into the soup. Place the bacon into the hot skillet, and pan-fry until the bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes. Cut the bacon into bite-size pieces and stir into the soup. Pour the chicken stock into the hot skillet, and stir to dissolve any brown flavor bits from the skillet; pour the chicken stock into the soup. Season with sea salt and pepper.
4. Set the cooker to Low cook the soup until the beans are very tender, 6 to 8 hours. Roughly mash about half the beans with a potato masher to thicken the soup.
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