Annie’s Ham and Bean Soup

As the pioneers traveled across the Great Plains towards fortunes untold, a staple meal in their diets was ham and bean soup. This may have been because the beans could soak all day as the wagons lurched over the miles. Or maybe it was because the addition of a little salt pork made the beans a bit tastier. Whatever the reason, the pioneers loved ham and bean soup, and so does my family.

Ham and bean soup is a relatively easy meal to put together. It can even be fixed in a crock-pot, although I choose to fix it early in the morning on the stovetop, and then let it sit and simmer all day.

Annie’s Ham and Bean Soup

• Grab 1 to 2 pounds of pinto beans (depending on how many people will be there for supper- as a reference, I use 2 pounds for 5 people) , throw them in a pot, fill it with water, and leave it set over night. The beans will re-hydrate themselves by morning and you will be good to go. Make sure to rinse your beans and pull out any foreign objects (dried beans are notorious for having little pieces of rocks, dirt, or hulls in them. If you forget to do the first step the night before, or you just have a hankering to fix them for supper tonight, never fear! Just bring the beans to a boil for 10 minutes, and then let them sit for an hour. You may need to add water as the beans soak it up.
• I like to start out with ham broth from cooking a ham. Since I try to never waste anything, I freeze the juices from a ham that I have fixed for my family, just for this purpose. If you have the broth in the pot as the beans are soaking, more of the ham flavor will infuse the beans and you will be in ham and bean heaven. Trust me. It’s true.
• Once the beans have soaked, if you have a hambone with ham on it, leftover from a previous meal, add this to the pot. If not, just dice up the ham you have on hand. It does not have to be a lot. I have added 1-4 cups of ham, depending on how much I have, how the budget looks for the week, and how many people will be eating the soup.
• Chop an onion, add.
• Chop ½ cup celery, add.
• Chop 3 carrots, add.
• Throw in the following:
• 1 ½ tsp kosher salt (or whatever salt you have on hand.)
• ½ tsp white pepper (black will do just fine as well)
• 1 tsp ham base. If you do not have this, do not fret. While it does make for a tastier pot of soup, it is not essential. I get mine at the Amish bulk food store.
• 2 tsp of chicken base. Or chicken bouillon. Yes. I did just tell you to add chicken bouillon to the ham and bean soup. I know it doesn’t make sense, but do it anyway. Most of the things I say don’t make sense at first, but eventually most of them do. Go ahead. Just put it in. You will love it. I promise.

• Bring to boil, and then simmer for at least 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. If using a crock-pot, just dump it all in (after beans have soaked,) set it on low, and walk away.
• Remove hambone, if used, trim off meat and add back to pot.

There you have it. Annie’s Ham and Bean Soup. My family begs me to make  Annie's Cornbread with it as well. I usually need at least 2 pie plates of cornbread for my crew.

*This soup freezes nicely if you want to make it ahead of time or divide it into smaller servings.

*If you have no ham on hand, you may also substitute bacon (1/4 to ½ pound).

*It also can be made into a vegetarian dish by omitting the ham and bouillon.

I leave you today with a bit of advice from Julia Child, “Always start out with a larger pot than what you think you need.”

Enjoy your soup, lovelies!

~Annie