White Bean and Leftover-Easter-Ham Soup

Amy's mom had us over for Easter and served one of the best hams the family's ever had. With a gorgeous fat cap, it was moist, tender and full of flavor. But that side of the family is pretty small, and with one picky first grader and her super-picky mom, we had plenty of leftovers. While the first thing that comes to mind for most New Englanders is the traditional split-pea soup, Amy was inspired by this recipe to make a white bean soup. With a few modifications, it was a light and easy post-holiday meal.

White Bean and Leftover-Easter-Ham Soup

adapted from this recipe by Grace Parisi

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

3 garlic cloves, peeled and pressed

5 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

4 cups low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth

3 14-ounce cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

fat cap from ham

3/4-1 pound ham leftovers, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

In a large soup pot, melt the butter. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, thyme sprigs and coriander and cook the vegetables over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the stock, beans and fat cap and bring to a boil. Cover partially and cook over moderate heat for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and remove the fat cap and thyme sprigs from the soup and discard. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup to desired consistency. Return soup to heat and add ham pieces. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook over low heat until ham is heated through. Serve with crusty bread!

Meatless Monday: White Beans Provençal

Ah, December. Sure, it's crunch time at school, with mid-marking progress reports due, and midterm exams just around the corner. Sure, we should be cleaning and decorating and buying presents and boosting the economy and all that. But what we love most about December is, of course, all about the food. It's about the cookie swapping, Chex mix eating, candy making, soup stewing, meat braising, and last week, beans simmering.

 

For last week's Meatless Monday, we came up with a simple white bean dish perfect for wintry weeknights. Since it's Monday again, we figured we'd share. Hearty and filling, these beans are packed with herbacious flavor from the wonderful spice blend that is herbes de Provence. Since our New England garden has been laid waste by the weather, we use this particular version of the traditional dried blend which includes garlic, lavender, a variety of other herbs and spices, lemon peel and sea salt. Add some vegetable broth to make it a stew, or serve it over rice for a more filling meal. We liked it the way it is here, served with a crusty French baguette.

 

White Beans Provençal

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons (or to taste) herbes de Provence

2 large (1 pound, 13 ounce) cans cannellini beans

2 bay leaves

kosher salt, to taste

freshly ground white pepper, to taste

1/4-1/2 cup hot water

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic and cook until onion starts to become translucent. Sprinkle with herbs de Provence and cook, stirring, for another 2-3 minutes. Add white beans and bay leaves and season with salt and white pepper to taste. Add 1/4 cup hot water (or more, to desired consistency) and cook over medium heat for about an hour. Drizzle with additional olive oil before serving.