3 Bean & Ham Soup

Ingredients 

Recipe makes 10 servings

3 cups mixed beans, soaked overnight & pre-cooked                                   (Black Bean, Great Northern Bean & Red Bean)

2  cups cubed ham

1/4 of an onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

5 large carrots, chopped

1 garlic clove (finely chopped)

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid

2 cups low sodium vegetable broth

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons Dijon or Spicy Brown mustard       

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon base 

6 bay leaves

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dried parsley

2 tablespoons lemon juice(1 small lemon)

9 cups  low sodium chicken broth/water

 (strained liquid from cooking the beans)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1-2 tablespoon olive oil 

*Optional :

-you can add a ham bone/ham hock for additional flavor

 - A couple dashes of Hot sauce

Directions

First clean then soak the beans overnight in water. 

 Salad spinner works great !

I had a lot of beans ....

I’m only using 3 cups for this soup recipe

 and the remaining cooked beans 

I’m going to make a bean dip –recipe to come.

I also froze some beans for later use recipes. 

First cook the mixed beans that were soaked overnight in water. 

 *Note that for every 1 cup of beans you need to add 3 cups of liquid which I'm using half chicken broth & water. 

 Place the 3 cups of  soaked beans into a large pot and fill with 4 -1/2 cups of chicken broth & 4-1/2 water to cover . Add 3 bay leaves. Drizzle of olive oil. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low for 30 minutes 

or until the beans are somewhat tender. 

I'm using a pressure cooker which cuts the time to 8 minutes.

Once the beans are fully cooked ....

  Drain  and strain the liquid.

Reserve the 9 cups of liquid 

 with discarding the bay leaves.

Add the reserved bean broth liquid  and the beans back to the pot which at this point you can add a ham bone/ham hock however I opted out of using one. I added   the cubed ham, chopped  onion,garlic, celery, carrots, canned diced tomatoes, lemon juice, 3 bay leaves, and vegetable broth.

Now add the Seasonings..

 Worcestershire sauce, I chose to use spicy brown mustard, 

chili powder, salt & pepper, parsley and chicken bouillon base.

Stir all the ingredients and drizzle with olive oil.

Simmer over low heat for about an hour 

or until the vegetables are tender.    

Before serving ....

Skim off the top of the broth  until your soup is clear  

and discard the bay leaves. 

Enjoy a hearty bowl of soup!

I will freeze some too!