Love Me, Love My Legumes

When I had received my latest share of meats, I called my mom and asked her how she had used ham hocks in recipes.  Split pea soup seemed obvious, but I'm not a fan.  Instead, mom suggested making 15 Bean Soup with the ham hock.  Now that was something I hadn't thought of, but it sounded like a great idea--hearty, meaty and soul-warming. 

Before I go any further, I just want to take a second to admire how pretty and colorful that bowl o' beans is!  Lima, fava, pinto, split peas, chickpeas, lentils, what have you!  Okay, random tangent over...

After talking with mom, who is 3,000 miles away in cold, miserable southern California (ha!), I immediately set out looking for the perfect recipe to try.  My Cook's Illustrated Soups & Stews edition had a version of the soup recipe, but it called for Swiss Chard, which I haven't seen at the farmer's market since the beginning of January.  The internet yielded a number of versions of which I liked bits and pieces of many of them; so, as usual, I cobbled together my own recipe for the soup.

Unfortunately, the universe wasn't completely with me on this one.  The vacuum seal was bad on my ham hocks.  Obligingly and apologetically, Kim offered to replace my two bad ham hocks with 4 pounds of my choice of meat!  I chose some more stew beef, a chicken breast and a ham steak. Since ham is a leaner pork cut, use some bacon to add flavor to the pan.  If you had the ham hock, that would do just the trick for you; but alas, it wasn't in the stars for me.

Old-Fashioned 15 Bean and Ham Soup
One 20 ounce bag of 15 Bean Soup mix, soaked overnight (at least 8 hours but up to 24 hours) in salty water

4 oz bacon or pork belly, chopped 1/4 inch thick
1 large onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 lb. cubed ham steak (or a 1 lb. ham bone)
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
6 cloves garlic, minced
One 28 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
4 cups vegetable broth
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
The juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried)
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper

Cook bacon in a large dutch oven or pot over medium heat until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, about 8 minutes.  Stir in onion, carrots, and celery and cook until vegetables are softened.While veggies are cooking, rinse beans really REALLY well. 

Stir in ham cubes, thyme and garlic and cook until fragrant.  Stir in broth, tomatoes and juice, bay leaves and soaked beans and bring to a boil.  Cover pot and reduce to a simmer.  Cook until beans are almost tender, 60 to 75 minutes.

Remove lid and stir in parsley, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and chili powder, and continue to cook, covered until beans and vegetables are fully tender, 30 to 40 minutes longer.  Remove pot from oven and remove bay leaves.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serves 8 to 10.

Look at all that hearty, chunky yumminess!

After two hours of simmering away, my house smelled so warm and comforting...like coming home from school to mom's cooking on a cold and rainy day.  I had a steamy bowl full of soup with a bit of that crusty French bread I picked up last Saturday and the last of my baby arugula.  mmm...good.

This soup yielded a healthy amount of leftovers, so I won't have to cook any lunches or dinners for a few days!  Whether you have a love/hate thing with beans or you just haven't given them much of a try, they are a great source of fiber and protein and are a nice meat substitute if you are looking for one.  Even though there was a minor hiccup in my original plan, the result was simply delicious.