Now that the weather here in the Philly area is finally getting a bit cooler, I'm making more soup. I love a good bowl of home made soup, especially the kind that simmers for hours on the back burner - just the aroma is a treat.
Well, yesterday, New's Year Day, was a chilly, rainy, miserable day, so I made a big ole pot of bean soup. This pot turned out better than any pot before, so thought I'd share my tips with you.
It starts a few days prior with a ham steak, the thick-cut, bone-in kind. I used a Cook's Thick Cut Ham Steak, (no affiliation), a 3-pounder that made a nice meal earlier in the week, but any similar ham steak will do.
I cooked it in a large cast iron skillet, the kind with ridges. I grilled the steak for about 8-10 minutes per side, on low/medium heat. A certain amount of liquid came off the ham, but as the ham sat on the ridges above the liquid, it got those neat sear marks, and the liquid cooked down, keeping the ham moist while carmelizing on the skillet bottom. After the meal, there was a good bit left over, along with the bone and marrow. I put that in the fridge for later soup makin's, along with the left over potatoes (can't have ham without pototoes, Katie Scarlett!)
But, here's the "secret" - after cooking, I deglazed the skillet with two cups of water and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes to cook down a bit. I used a wooden scraper to get up all the little bits from the nooks and crannies of the ridges so as to not lose any of that precious liquid - similar to making Redeye Gravy, but without the coffee. It was dark and rich, almost like a dark beef broth. I put that in the fridge for later use; I could also have put it in the freezer for much later use.
Now... the soup...
The night before, I rinsed and sorted a 1 lb bag of navy beans. I rarely find anything but beans in the bag of beans, but from time to time, do find a small stone, so, best to rinse and check. Then I put them in a large bowl, cover with water an inch or two above the beans, cover bowl and let soak overnight. I know you can boil them the next day if you forget (or just don't want) to soak them, but I think they cook up more tender if you give them that long soak. And, it's not like you have to sit there and cheer them along, they can sit there all by themselves, and be perfectly happy.
The next morning/day/noon, or whenever I feel like it, I drain and rinse the beans and put them in a stock pot, add the ham stock, a quart of chicken stock, and a few more cups of water if it looks like it needs it. Add the ham, and simmer for 3-4 hours over low heat, until the beans are tender.
Remove the ham and let it cool enough to handle. Meantime, add the veggies - 1 medium onion chopped, a stalk or two of chopped celery, 1 large or 2 smaller chopped carrots, 4 chopped cloves of garlic, 1 large or 2 medium diced potatoes, couple of tablespoons of parsley, salt/pepper to taste (remember, the ham is salty, so go easy on the salt). Cut up ham and add to soup. Add more water if needed. Simmer til veggies are tender - maybe another hour. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Serves 6-8.
Ingredients:
1 2-3 lb ham steak (for leftovers and deglazed ham broth)
2 cups (more or less) deglazed ham broth
1 lb navy beans
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart water
1 med/lg onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 carrot, chopped
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium potatoes, diced
parsley/salt/pepper to taste
Oh, and don't forget the biscuits or a good bread to soak in the broth.
We had chicken breasts tonight that I cooked the same way as the ham, and deglazed to get a cup or two of chicken stock - think I'll make a nice chicken soup this weekend.
