It's raining and miserable here in SoCal. Cold, too (61°F at the
moment), which put me in the mood for a good, hearty soup. After
tinkering with this recipe from Gourmet Magazine for years, I finally
tweaked it to my (and the DH's) liking::

@@@@@ Now You're Cooking! Export Format

Navy Bean Soup

soups and stews

1 lb dried small white beans such as navy or great northern
1 lb smoked ham hocks
1/4 cup bacon drippings (from 1/2lb bacon) (you can use olive oil,
but...)
2 cups chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 fresh thyme sprigs

Soak beans in cold water to cover overnight (8 hours). Drain and rinse
well.

Simmer ham hocks in 6 cups water in a 3-quart saucepan, partially
covered,
skimming foam as necessary, 1 hour. Reserve 4 cups cooking liquid and
drain
ham hocks.
Heat bacon drippings in an 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat until
hot
but not smoking, then cook onion and garlic, stirring, until softened.
Add
thyme and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add soaked beans, broth, ham
hocks, and
reserved cooking liquid and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally,
until
beans are tender, about 1 hour. Remove ham hocks and shred meat.

(1# diced tomatoes can be added.)

Contributor: Gourmet November 2000

Yield: 6 servings.

Preparation Time: 1 hr

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA


"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"