Leftover Ham? Make Navy Bean Soup!

I may bake a ham once, possibly twice a year. I enjoy the ham but I have to admit - the best thing, for me, is making soup from the ham bone!

It love making pea soup but this time navy bean soup was calling to me~

My soup was made from mainly navy beans but I spotted a bag of dried pink beans at the store and couldn't resist adding a few of those.

A sprinkle of Sarah's Mediterranean Sea Salt and a few cheddar bread sticks and that was dinner - it was delicious!

The late-setting sun and the glow from the weekend tulips set the mood.

This soup recipe is adapted from numerous recipes and adapted to my taste buds. I hope you try it and enjoy :)

Navy Bean Soup
Printable Recipe

1 pound navy beans (Today, I added some pink beans also)
1 meaty ham bone, or you could use a smoked pork hock
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 medium carrots, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
1 large clove minced garlic
2-3 sprigs of thyme
Approximtely 3 quarts Water, Chicken or Vegetable Stock
Salt and Pepper

If you are a well-planned soup maker, you can soak the beans overnight. If you?re like me, at least get started in the morning! Pick out any unsavory-looking beans and rinse in a colander. Place the beans into a soup pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, remove from heat and let them rest for 30 minutes. Pour beans back into the colander and rinse again.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a sauté pan. Add the onion, carrots and celery and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

Put the beans back into the soup pot along with the ham bone and cover with water or, as I do, add chicken or vegetable stock to cover the beans by at least 2 inches. Add the sautéed vegetables and thyme sprigs and simmer the soup on low heat for 4-5 hours until the beans are tender. Remove ham bone, dice the remaining ham from the bone and return to soup.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove thyme stems before serving and garnish with Mediterranean Sea Salt or Parsley. Cheddar bread sticks are a perfect compliment.