Monday, September 14, 2009

Ham bone and beans

Over on facebook I posted that I was cooking beans with a ham bone and lots of people were either cooking beans too or they said yummy. Wayne asked for pictures and directions. I don't have soup recipes. Soup just depends on what I've got on hand. Today it was a part of a ham bone that I'd saved from a spiral cut ham I bought at Costco and served sometime in the Spring. I just wrapped up the bones still covered in big chunks of ham and put them in a freezer bag and saved them for a day that felt like a soup making day.

I also had a 1/2 kilo of frijoles peruano. I wasn't familiar with these beans until Cristina Potter of Mexico Cooks blog fame cooked refried beans with them at a food gathering. In their dried state they are a creamy yellow bean and I've seen them in all the mercados. They seem to cook faster than pinto or black beans and they are very creamy. I'm now a fan of these beans. They made a great combination with my ham bone.

As you know my recipes are not exacting but a guide.

Ham Bone and Bean Soup

1 nice meaty ham bone
1/2 kilo peruano beans
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic diced
10 or 12 cups of water
1 can diced tomatoes
1 finely diced serrano pepper (2 serranos if you really like hot)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven wilt the onion. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add the beans, ham bone and water. 10 or 12 cups of water is a guess but you want the beans and ham bone well covered. Cook for about 1 and 1/2 hours over low heat until the beans are just barely tender. Let it cool a bit until you can pull the bone out and cut off any meat that is still on the bone. If there are some big hunks of meat in the soup, I'd also cut them up. Return all the meat to the soup and discard the bone. Add the diced tomatoes and serrano and cook for another 30 or 45 minutes. If the liquid starts to get too thick add a little more water or chicken stock. Do not salt until the last because the ham will add salt to the beans.

Served with a big green salad and cornbread or corn tortillas, this hearty soup makes a great dinner.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh...that looks wonderful. I am just having my coffee and could certainly go for a bowl of that soup. It certainly reminds me of Mexico!!

Bob y Sam

Billie Mercer said...

Bob and Sam, it is definitely time for you to get back to SMA.

GlorV1 said...

That looks delicious. You are really utilizing your new pot. I haven't even used mine yet. I will though. That's a fine recipe there Billie. Thx for sharing.

Islagringo said...

OMG! My mouth is watering! Sounds like an easy receipe. I think I would add some veggies to the mix though to make it a bit more hearty. Now, where did I leave that hambone?

Billie Mercer said...

A lot of time I dice carrots and add them to soup. They disappear in the cooking but add flavor. But I'm kind of a purist on my bean soups. I love the beans.

Heather said...

I'm going to show this recipe to Phoebe, my daughter. We make a pot of soup every Sunday from the fall through the spring. We each take turns with who comes up with what soup we make and the recipe. I made my chicken noodle soup last Sunday, which is a big hit in the house. It's Phoebe's turn this week and she wants bean soup. It'll be my DH's turn the following week. I bet he'll do Italian wedding soup.