White Bean and Ham Soup ➡️ https://just2note.com/2023/12/18/white-bean-and-ham-soup/

We gotta have it 😋. Every winter 🥰. Adapted from Simply Recipes: for basic measurements –  make it to your preferences. I don’t use celery. I prefer, when I can, a bit of ham in mine, and I use a little crushed red pepper flakes instead of Tabasco sauce. I make a big pot because we like to freeze some. By the way, if it doesn’t turn out as thick or creamy as you’d like, there are a couple/few options to thicken it. I’m only going to name 3… that won’t change flavor. I like adding potato 🥔 either I cook a couple of potatoes, sliced up, in broth from soup in a small saucepan and use stick blender, adding more broth to saucepan until consistency that will easily pour back into soup pot. Also, instant mashed potatoes can be used 😉. Another way is to mash some of the beans. The only reason I haven’t gone with that method is because I never have the abundance of beans for that 😜. The third way is to leave lid off pot of soup and cook longer… until liquid evaporates and soup naturally thickens. 👌

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb of white beans – Cannellini or Great Northern – about 2 1/2 cups
2 quarts of water
2-3 lbs of ham hocks or shanks (leftover spiral sliced ham works great!)
2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence, or Italian seasoning
1 cup of diced onions (about 1 small onion)
2/3 cup chopped carrots (about 1 medium carrot)
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
Tabasco sauce
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley

METHOD

1 Fill a pot large enough to hold the beans with water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the beans, and soak the beans for about 2 hours. Drain the water.2 Meanwhile, put the ham hocks or shanks in a large pot and cover with 2 quarts of water. Add the herbes de Provence or Italian seasoning. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about an hour. Add the chopped vegetables and beans. Cook for another hour until the vegetables are soft and the ham meat easily pulls away from the bone. Pull the meat off the bone and discard the bones.3 Add several drops of Tabasco to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I also made ham salad with some of the leftover ham 😋 we like the old-fashioned basic simple version. By the way, that’s how The Hobeybaked Ham Co makes there’s too. Just ground (or food processor if you don’t have a meat grinder), Miracle Whip, and sweet pickle relish. That’s it. But here’s a recipe if desired, below.

Ham Salad Recipe ⤵️

https://thesaltedpepper.com/ham-salad/