Here’s a cooking question for the ages: is it possible to take a classic, tried and true recipe and improve upon it? Is there a quintessentially perfect basic blueberry muffin, for example, or pot roast, and is it a sacrilege to modify them? Or how about a ham and bean soup? As far as I know, Americans have been making ham and bean soup since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. (Or at least once they figured out how to not starve–go read Nathaniel Philbrick’s excellent book Mayflower for a lesson on how the Pilgrims were kind of boneheads when it came to agriculture.) Anyway, if not since Plymouth Rock, ham and bean soup has been an American staple at least since the 1980s–I know because there’s a recipe for it in my very own passed-down Better Homes and Gardens “Red and White” cookbook.
Which, come to find out, is now going for 90 bucks on the Internet. Sweet!
If a recipe is in the red and white cookbook, I consider it a classic. But to tell you the truth, last week when I read through the Ham and Bean Soup recipe in the BHG Bible, it just didn’t excite me. It used water instead of broth, had minimal seasonings, and called for dried navy beans when I wanted canned. The one thing that DID match my criteria was that it used a ham bone, which I had saved from our Christmas Ham-fest. Still, that wasn’t enough to give it the pizzazz I was hoping for, so I decided to tempt fate and tinker until I came up with something a bit more interesting. Adding chicken broth, carrots, dry mustard, and nutmeg gave this hearty soup enough flavor to eliminate the need for added salt–always a plus, if you ask me. And cutting out the dried bean soaking time got it from prep to table in under an hour. After two bites, my 7-year-old proclaimed it his new favorite soup of all time.
So, if I dare say it, I think our family has a new classic Ham and Bean Soup. Try it out and tell me if you feel the same.
Ham and White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
- 6 carrots, diced
- 1 large onion
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ham bone
- 2 15-oz. cans great Northern beans, drained
- 2 c. chopped ham
- 1 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. dry mustard
- 1/4 tsp. ground thyme
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 c. chicken broth
- 4 c. water
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, and ham bone and saute until vegetables have softened, about 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds.
- Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer at least 30 minutes.
- Remove ham bone and bay leaves and serve.
Notes
I Do not Pre-soak the beans. I rinse the beans, add fresh water and cook the dried beans with the ham hocks (or ham bone if I have one), I bring the beans to a boil and then cover with a lid and reduce the heat, letting them cook for an hour or so. The ham hocks make a nice broth on their own without using stock. Then I add the chopped carrots, celery and onion, and cook until soft. I also add in some chopped or cubed ham. I remove the ham hocks and let cool, chopping the meat and adding back to the pot, then salt and pepper to taste . I serve with corn bread. This soup is always full of flavor and a winner.
*Note I add a tsp or 2 of baking soda to the beans/cold water when I start cooking them.
(This neutralizes the beans and prevents any issue with gas later from eating the beans.)
Sounds delicious!