My Mom passed away last June and this recipe is hers. Every time I make it, I take out her recipe, written in her handwriting and give a little sigh of gratitude for a wonderful woman who believed in eating together as a family who made sure we came together everyday and knelt in prayer to thank God for all we had been given. I love you Mom!
Hamhock and White Bean Soup
This is a great winter time soup for our family as we only eat a spiral cut ham like this for special occasions like Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter. I usually buy a spiral cut ham, cook as the directions say. We eat it and enjoy every bite of it and then I make this soup with the left overs. My mom always said a nice big bone makes the best kind of soup. I believe her!
2 16 oz. Bags of White Northern or Navy Beans
1 - 2 Gallons of Water
2 Large Onions
2-3 Cloves of Garlic
1 Tbsp. Salt
3-4 Bay Leaves
2 tsp. Basil
This makes a big soup pot, so depending on how much you want to make, you might want to divide this recipe in half.
Cooking Beans
Over night method: Put a large pot of water on the stove. Open your bags of beans and pour into stock pot. Put the lid on and let it sit over night.
Two hour method: Put a large pot of water on the stove. Open your bags of beans and pour into stock pot. Get the water boiling and once it is boiling, turn the heat off and let sit for two hours.
Whatever method you choose, pour the water off the beans into the sink and the drain. Beans are really dirty and you want to make sure you do not cook your beans in the same water you soaked them in. Fill the stock pot up again with water and place the lid on it and get water boiling again.
I always SOAK my beans. Supposedly, you cut down on the gas of the bean by soaking them, but realistically you cut way down on the cooking time by soaking them. The instructions I have given you for soaking beans are the same that are on the back of the bag of beans if you need further referencing.
Place the hamhock in the pot of beans as you cook them. Chop up your onions and garlic to the size you like. Throw them in the stock pot. Add the bay leaves and Basil. Add your salt about an hour before dinner. I start this soup in the morning, after the beans have soaked over night, and let it cook until we eat dinner at 6 or 7.
Beans are not really hard, they just take some thought. You will be amazed how fast this soup comes together once you put it all in the pot in the morning.
Here is my mom's original recipe in her handwriting.
