Food You’ll Find Here:

Usually Simple, Often French, Always Delicious

Ham and White Bean Soup –

Le Soupe de Jambon et des Haricots Blancs

Easter is over and I hope you enjoyed a wonderful, holiday weekend.

Have you had enough ham to last you until next year?  What do you do with your leftover ham, besides make ham sandwiches?  Maybe you’ll make a Quiche Lorraine with Ham and Cheese or a Ham and Onion Pizza.  I make soup!  I love soup and this recipe is simple and you can personalize it to fit your taste, or to fit whatever ingredients are available in your refrigerator.

Melt butter in stock pot.  I love soup and I love butter, too.  It’s so golden and creamy and dreamy.  MMMmmm.  But it looks lonely here.  We’ll have to add…

…onions, garlic, and carrots.  I am a Vidalia (sweet) onion lover.  You may use any onions you like.  Cook until the carrots are softer, but not mushy.  Soup love and butter love and Vidalia onion love.  Lots of lovin’ going on here today.

Add chicken broth and water.  Once again, I used bouillon cubes and water to make my broth.  For this soup, it’s less expensive and it tastes just fine.  If you have canned or boxed broth, or best of all, homemade broth, please use it.

Add tomatoes and sage.  This is the brand and flavor of tomatoes that I used today.  Use any kind you like.  Many of the ingredients are negotiable, but not the sage.  Don’t skip it.  And if you use unseasoned tomatoes, you may want to add a bit of basil and oregano.  Taste as you go and add seasoning until it tastes good to you.  It’s your soup!

Add white beans.  If you prefer, use kidney beans or black beans, but then remember to change the name of the soup as it will no longer be Ham and White Bean Soup.  Or, if you prefer, you can make it without the ham and then it’s just Bean Soup, but still delicious.

Imagine that there is a photo of me adding the ham and the green beans here.  Because they are in there.  But there is no photo.  I had company and kids and got distracted during the soup-making, photo-taking process.

Options:  Add cut green beans, spinach, or peas.  Your choice or none at all.  Add what you like.  It’s your soup!

We had this soup for dinner with a loaf of crusty French bread, butter, and a side salad.  Leftover ham deliciousness on a spoon.

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped ham
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 2 cloves  minced garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 2 15 oz. cans of white beans or beans of your choice
• 1 15 oz. can chopped, seasoned tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• Optional – 1 cup of peas, cut green beans, or spinach

Instructions

1. Melt butter in stock pot over medium-low heat.  Add onion, garlic, and carrots and cook until soft.  Stir often to keep from burning.
2. Add chicken broth, water and sage.
3. Drain and rinse white beans and add along with can of tomatoes including juice, ham, and a green vegetable if desired.
4. Simmer until flavors blend and serve.

Enjoy!  Bon Appétit!  What are you doing with your leftover ham?

Bebe