I have always loved soup.
I ate a lot of soup for lunch when I was a child – usually the condensed kind that came in the red and white cans. I loved them all (except mushroom; that was just gross….)
My favorite was Bean with Bacon.
I have no idea if I would like any of those soups now. It’s been more years than I care to admit to since I have tasted any of them but I can still remember how salty they all were (probably why I liked them).
I still love Bean Soup.
I use 2 types of ham for the best flavor and lots of chunky vegetables.
We like to have it with biscuits.
Being somewhat of a lazy cook I make Oatmeal Drop Biscuits. Or sometimes Cheese Drop Biscuits….
They’re both so easy anyone can make them.
Really.
Put it all in a bowl, stir and drop onto a baking sheet.
Enjoy the soup…. Winter’s coming.
Bean Soup with Ham
Total time: 2 hours
plus soaking time
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (16oz, 500gr) dried white beans
- 8 cups water
- 6oz (180gr) dry-cured ham, chopped
- 8oz (240gr) baked or wet-cured ham, cut into cubes
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 – 5 large carrots, cut in half the long way, then sliced
- 2 – 3 ribs celery, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbs tomato paste
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 bouquet garni
- 1 tbs olive oil
Instructions:
- Sort through beans, discarding any stones (never found any) or damaged beans.
- Put beans in soup pot or Dutch oven (5 qt capacity), cover with water plus about 2 inches and let soak overnight.
- Drain and lightly rinse the beans. Do NOT use the cooking water.
- Heat the olive oil in the soup pot.
- Add onions and sauté 5 minutes.
- Add celery, dry-cured ham and sauté 5 minutes longer.
- Add garlic, mustard, paprika and sauté 2 minutes.
- Add 8 cups water, carrots, beans, and herbs.
- Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 75 minutes. Do not let it boil hard – this could cause the beans to break-up.
- Add baked ham and tomato paste cover and continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove bay leaves, bouquet garni and serve.
- Refrigerate the rest for freezing and / or eating later in the week.
The final post on our visit to Morocco….
On the last day we went to Marjorelle Garden.
It’s a botanical garden housing a wide variety of cactus and succulents and is one of the most visited sites in Morocco.
It was made by French painter Jacques Marjorelle (1886 – 1962) over the course of 40 year and has been open to the public since 1947.
In 1980 Yves Saint-Laurent bought the property and continued the work and a bit of restoration.
It even has it’s own color – Marjorelle Blue:
A few final random photos….
A farmhouse.
A shepherd with his flock and his donkey.
Marrakesh at sunset from the roof of our riad.
You can see the Atlas Mountains in the distance.
You really should visit Morocco….
Beautiful pictures. I’m glad you had a great time.
I make green bean soup with my ham bone. Lovely, rich and so, so good on a cold night. Any soup with ham is pure comfort though so I’ll have to try yours.
Great pictures Katie…thanks for sharing your Morocco trip!
nightsmusic, thanks – we really enjoyed it. I like green bean soup but the hubs not so much…. We both like this and I wish I could get a ham bone!
Thanks Ina…..