Fall Into Flavor – 15 Bean Soup

 

Joining Lid for this weeks installment of Fall Into Flavor.

I don't know about you but when the weather turns a bit chilly my thoughts turn to a big pot of soup on the stove.

I don't necessarily have a recipe for you today, I rarely make the same pot of soup twice. I am a chop and dump kind of girl but then soups are very forgiving.

The basics of making a really good 15 bean soup are very simple. All you need are a few basic ingredients and a really good sharp knife.

You need to start the night before you want to make the soup by soaking the beans in water overnight!

 

You will need 2 medium onions, some celery, a few cloves of garlic, a small bag of carrots and a nice, big, fat, meaty, delicious ham bone.

Were chopping…..

Like they say on all the cooking shows, use the green leafy part of the celery it really does give the pot of soup a lot of flavor.

More chopping….

Peel you carrots and your garlic…

More chopping….

Chicken stock…now if I were Ina Garten

I would be using my homemade chicken stock but since even Ina says it’s ok to use a canned broth or stock then in my book it’s OK. Plus who has time to make homemade chicken stock…Ina Garten’s production assistant that’s who.

 

Sauté you chopped veggies in oil until tender.

Y’all check out this ham bone.

There is a ton of meat on this. Skoots1mom clued me in on a tip. I went to the local Honey Baked Ham store and picked up a few ham bones to have in my freezer. I did not know they sold just the ham bone. You can bet for sure that it will be a regular stop for me from now on. I may not be able to afford a whole Honey Baked ham, but I can afford $6.11 for a ham bone!!!! I actually cut almost a pound of meat of to set aside to add to the soup just before serving.

After your beans have soaked overnight, toss them in a colander and give them a good rinse.

Add the drained and rinsed off beans to the sautéed vegetables and give them a good stir.

Add the ham bone…

 

Pour in the chicken stock.

Add a few bay leaves salt, pepper and season to your liking.

Simmer on low for two to three hours until beans are tender and the broth is fully flavored with the ham bone.

The ham bone should fall apart and all the meat on the bone should fall off into the soup.

Before we ladle or soup up I want to share a super double top secret Be Still and Know kitchen trick with all of you.

How many times did I have to soak my soup pots in the sink for days and days because it got scorched on the bottom? More time than I can count sadly enough.

How many many, many years have I dreamed of having a really good stock pot with a nice heavy bottom to help prevent scorching. Regretfully I still do not have a decent stock pot. But I have figured out how to prevent getting that nasty scorching that tends to happen if your not paying attention.

For example if your making soup, working on a post, checking your facebook page,balancing your check book and feeding your granddaughter all at the same time and you forget to stir your soup.

It is a bit tricky but if you take the back burner grate and set it counter clockwise to the grate over the burner you are using and then keep the flame on low it raises your pot up so you can simmer away for several hours without fear of getting a scorched bottom or a ruined pot of soup!

 

After a few hours of simmering your soup is good to go.

Be sure to give your soup a taste before serving to adjust the seasoning if necessary. With a big ol ham bone you should be careful with the salt, just be sure to taste it as you go.

Serve with buttermilk biscuits or cornbread muffins and a side salad and you’re in ham bone heaven.

The beauty of making a big old pot of soup are the leftovers which just get better the next day.

Blessings

Robin