Smoked Pork White Bean And Vegetable Soup Recipes

SMOKY WHITE BEAN AND HAM SOUP

Steps:

• Quick-soak the beans: Place the beans in a medium pot and cover with 2 to 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and let sit for 1 hour. Drain in a colander.
• Place the drained beans into a 5.5-quart Dutch oven or large pot. Add the water, chicken stock, bay leaves, quartered onion, and ham hocks. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and simmer over low heat until the beans are just tender, about 1 hour (depending on the size of the beans, it could take a bit longer).
• Once the beans are tender, pull out the bay leaves, onion remnants, and ham hocks. Discard the bay leaves and onions, but set the ham hocks aside to cool.
• Add the minced onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes, garlic, thyme, and 2 teaspoons of salt to the pot. Increase the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. While the soup is cooking, and when the ham hocks are cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the hocks, discard any bone, fat, and tough sinew, and chop the meat finely.
• Use a ladle to transfer about 2 cups of the beans and vegetables, along with a bit of broth, to a blender or food processor. (If using a blender, be sure to remove the center knob on the lid and cover with a dishtowel to avoid splatters.) Purée until smooth, and then stir the mixture back into the soup. Add the meat and kale to the soup and simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes more. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, if necessary (I usually add about 1 teaspoon more; beans require a lot of salt to bring out their flavor). At this point, you can serve the soup or refrigerate it for up to 3 days. (It will thicken up in the fridge; thin it with a bit of water, if necessary.)
• When you're ready to eat, garnish each bowl with a drizzle with olive oil (if using) and a heap of grated cheese.
• Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. through.

SMOKED PORK, WHITE BEAN AND VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a heavy soup pot and add bacon until it's crisp, not burned. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add onion, carrot and celery to pot and cook over medium heat to soften, not brown about 5 minutes or more. Add garlic, rosemary, thyme, ground pepper and stir for about a minute until garlic is fragrant.
• Add potato, cabbage, beans and pork, stir and cook for a minute or two and then add water -I add a lot but if you want it to be more stewy than soupy, don't add as much.
• Turn heat to high and bring to boil, turn down to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until your vegetables are cooked. Take off heat and add salt 1/4 teaspoon at a time, stirring after adding and tasting until it's seasoned.

HEARTY PORK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Place beans in a large bowl; add cool water to cover. Soak 5 hours or overnight. Drain beans, discarding water; rinse with cool water., In a 6-qt. slow cooker, layer beans, onions, carrots, celery and pork. Add seasonings, broth and ale. Cook, covered, on low 6-8 hours or until beans and pork are tender. , Remove pork; shred with 2 forks. Stir in tomatoes, spinach and salt. Return pork to slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.