Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Ham, Potato, and Green Bean Soup

Q: What's better than having a best friend who is a hairdresser?A: Said hairdresser best friend comes with a hubby who plants a huge garden.

Nancy and Chris spent last weekend with us and brought along a big bag of vegetables to share. Our produce bundle included fresh green beans, potatoes, onions, and a lovely head of broccoli. Chris cooked up a wicked good batch of green beans, bacon, mushrooms and onions for our Saturday night cookout, then graciously left the remaining veggies behind for us to enjoy this week.

It was cold and rainy when I woke up this morning, so I knew those vegetables were destined to become soup. I also had some leftover ham that needed to be used. I grabbed a ham bone from the freezer and decided to make my own stock for this soup. Had I not had that bone, I would have grabbed two quart boxes of chicken broth from my pantry and called it a day.

Other past-its-prime produce went into the pot as well. A lone carrot, a couple of garlic cloves, a celery stalk, a chunk of green bell pepper, and some thyme and rosemary sprigs were dumped into the pot and I covered them all with two quarts of water, then boiled the whole bunch for about an hour and a half. Then I strained the broth and chilled it so I could skim the fat from the surface. The result was a delicious ham broth that then became the base for this soup.

In large soup pot heat oil. Add onion, celery, mushrooms and crushed red pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper, and saute over medium heat until onions are translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add in the garlic and thyme and saute for another minute or two. Sprinkle flour over all and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes to ensure that the flour is cooked through. Gradually add in stock and bring to a boil Add potatoes, reduce heat a bit, and boil for 10 minutes. Add in green beans and ham and continue to boil for another 10 minutes or so, until potatoes and green beans are tender. Remove from heat and stir in half & half and fresh parsley.

About Me

This is my documentation of my life after turning 50. Lots of recipes, some healthy, some not so much... tossed up with a hefty dose of sarcasm and motherly love.
My email address: maggielauerrdh(at)yahoo.com