sprinklefingers

We cut a lot of ham at the bakery.
And, of course, I use that “we” in a completely royal sense because I actually do no cutting of ham myself. We have a meat slicer (a device, not a person) and we get these giant hams in from one of our purveyors - and really, it takes a special person to do all that cutting - and I’ll freely admit that I’m not that special person. 
So, while the meat is being sliced (by a person using a device,) I’ll busy myself with other things that make me look extremely busy. Like, say, reviewing invoices. Or eating lunch. 

After the ham is cut there are always scraps and odd bits left over that we affectionately (of course) refer to as ham bits. The ham bits are stuffed into bags and then stuck in the freezer (did you know you can freeze ham AND its bits? You can!) After that, the fate of the ham bits lies in the hands of our employees. Ham bits for all! I have personally taken a dozen or so bags of ham bits home from the bakery in order to turn them into something more than just scraps and odd bits - but how often does one need to incorporate ham bits into their everyday cooking? Not very often.

Until, of course, I remembered soup. SOUP! Ham loves soup and soup loves ham! So, I created a very special soup based on the abundance of ham bits I have in my life. (And, seriously, if you’re ever in the neighborhood of SW 12th & Morrison in Portland, stop in to see me - I’ll give you your very own bag of ham bits. And you can also have a cookie.)

Ham & Bean Soup
featuring ham bits!
serves 12 (yes, this makes a giant pot of soup!) 

This soup requires that you soak dried beans overnight. No problem! Just rinse your beans well, put them in a giant bowl and cover them by a few inches with cold water. Then leave them on the counter overnight. 

You need:

• 4 cups mixed dried beans, soaked overnight.
  - Choose from: black beans, black eyed peas, white beans, cranberry beans, kidney beans, pinto beans or gigante beans…there are a lot of dried beans in the world, so pick the ones you like - 4 cups of them, mixed - and soak them in plenty of water overnight.
• 3-4 cups chopped ham bits - any fatty or unsightly parts of a ham you’ve trimmed away would be perfect. (No ham bits? Use a hock!)
• 3 bay leaves
• 5 quarts water 
• 3-4” piece of parmesan rind

Start the soup: 

1. Put everything in the above list in your largest soup pot. 
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add to the soup:

• Dice a yellow onion. Put it in a sauté pan set over medium-low heat and let it gently caramelize with a tiny glug of olive oil. Once the onion has caramelized and there are bits of brown stuck to the pan, deglaze the pan with a bit of balsamic vinegar. Remove the onions from the heat and add to the soup.
• 8 oz good quality tomato sauce
• 14 oz diced, fire roasted tomatoes
• a few good grinds of black pepper
• a glug of balsamic vinegar
• two good pinches of kosher salt
• 3/4 t cumin
• 1/4 t Hungarian paprika
• 1/4 t allspice
• 1/8 t cloves

Once you’ve added all of the above to the soup and have stirred well, continue to simmer for 30-45 minutes until the flavors have melded and the beans are perfectly biteable. Fish out the parm rind and any strange bits of ham. Adjust the seasonings and you’re ready to enjoy.

Now you’ve got a lot of soup on your hands! I suggest refrigerating one half and freezing the other. The refrigerated half will result in at least two good dinners. And having soup in the freezer means dinner in flash when you’re short on time.

Oh, and, I’ve made this soup quite a few times, making tweaks along the way. Here are some variations that have worked splendidly:

• For part of your dried bean mix, use lentils. They will basically break down completely and make the soup a great deal thicker. Yum! And comforting when it’s cold out.
• When it comes time to serve the soup, place a nest of ribbon-cut raw kale in the bottom of each bowl. This pumps up the nutritional value of the soup AND adds a crunchy, zesty element to the soup.
• For an even meatier dish, add cooked sausage to each bowl at serving time.

it’s cold here. and i have a lot of beans in my freezer. so, i made soup. or stew. [note to rachael ray fans: i refuse to say stoop. or steup or whatever it is she says.]

anyways, like i said, it’s cold here. and i spent the entire day in a strange fog. i managed to make a grocery list and hit the market, but that’s really about it. i’m hoping a delicious dinner turns me around. fingers crossed.

speaking of delicious dinner, make this now!

white bean, sage & bacon soup/stew

you need:

• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 8-10 sage leaves, left whole
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2” piece of parmesan rind
• 8 cups white beans, divided
• 4 cups bean cooking liquid OR water
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 t kosher salt
• 1/4 t ground white pepper

to make the soup/stew:

1. fry the bacon over medium heat until crispy but not burnt. add the sage leaves and saute until fragrant.
2. next add the onion, garlic and carrot. saute until the onion is golden.
3. meanwhile, puree 5 cups of the beans with 1 cup of the cooking liquid or water.
4. to the onion mixture add the parmesan rind, pureed beans, remaining beans, remaining bean cooking liquid (or water,) chicken stock, salt and pepper.
5. bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes until thick and flavorful.
6. fish out the sage leaves and cheese rind then serve with salt & pepper for individual seasoning.

i completely forgot to take photos of the finished product. i told you i was in a fog today.

i’ll admit i buy canned beans occasionally…especially when life gets busy and dinner needs to be made with no thought at all.

but - holy crap - does making a pot of beans make sense. they’re more delicious that way AND you will save tons of money. at least enough to buy some ice cream. or to pay for netflix for the month. or to put in your piggy bank to save for a rainy day.

in addition to the yum factor and the cash factor, cooking up a pot of beans is so super easy…and you can make a giant batch, use some and then freeze the rest for later…just like having a pantry stocked with cans of beans, only better!

super easy pot of beans

first up it’s important to mention that i don’t season my beans ahead. if buying canned beans i always buy the salt-free variety and i make my own beans salt-free, too. most of my beans go into soups or other dishes that get plenty of seasoning as it is…so i skip salt. but you can do what you’d like. these are your beans! your. beans!

you need:

• any variety dried beans. my favorite beans are cannellini (or white kidney) beans. they taste like butter. beany butter, yes. but like butter.
• water
• large soup/stock pot

to make your beans:

1. measure your desired amount of beans into the soup pot. i usually cook a batch starting with 4 cups of dried beans. this will yield a ton of cooked beans.
2. pour water over the beans to cover by a few good inches.
3. let the beans soak overnight.
4. drain the soaking liquid from the beans and add clean water to the pot - enough to cover the beans by a few good inches again.
5. set the pot over medium-high heat and put the lid on.
6. when the beans come to a boil, reduce the heat so that they don’t boil rapidly (but are still boiling) and set the lid a bit cock-eyed so that some steam will escape.
7. let the beans cook for 1 hour and then test one. you want them to be soft - like beans! - but not mushy. if they aren’t ready yet, let them cook a while longer. it usually takes my beans more like 1.5 hours to finish cooking. keep an eye on your liquid levels and add more water if it’s needed.
8. once your beans have finished cooking, drain them.
9. divide the beans into what you will use immediately and what you’ll be storing in your freezer.

i like to store my beans in the freezer in 3-cup containers. a very manageable size for most recipes plus 3-cup containers are easy to wedge in between other things in the freezer. all you have to do is pour the beans into the container, put the lid on and freeze. don’t add liquid or anything else. when you’re ready to use the beans simply remove from the freezer and thaw overnight in the fridge - OR just mix the frozen beans into whatever it is you’re making. they’ll thaw in no time flat.

beans! so easy!

[coming soon: a delicious soup using these beans!]