Ham and Bean Soup

To soak, or not to soak?

This soup begins with dried pinto beans. Unlike my grandmother, I do not soak them and I do not slow cook them. My beans go from dried to ready to eat in just two hours. At that point, I add the other ingredients to make soup. The soup then simmers for a couple of hours to reduce the liquid and develop the flavors. This means that you can start the soup after breakfast and have it for lunch.

Of course, if you prefer, use some other type of dried bean. And if you must, soak and slow cook the beans; this will simply extend the cooking time. 

The following is what I call a half batch of soup but can be easily doubled, as you'll see from the ingredient list. In addition, one of the things I occasionally do to the full batch is add a 10oz can of Ro-Tel tomatoes (hot) to give the soup a little heat. But this is absolutely optional. 

Ingredients:

1 cup dried pinto beans

8 cups water

1/2 Tbsp garlic powder

1/2 Tbsp salt

1/2 large onion, chopped

1 can Progresso Hearty Tomato Soup
(accept no substitute)

1/2 pound diced cooked ham

Instructions:

Rinse the beans. Place them in a large covered sauce pan along with the water. Turn on high heat and bring to full boil. Reduce heat to medium low heat, maintaining slow boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are soft. 

Add garlic powder, salt, and onion. Continue, still covered, on medium low heat until onion is soft. Remember to stir occasionally.

Uncover and reduce heat to low. Add soup. (Please do not substitute any other soup for the Progresso Hearty Tomato Soup. This is a really good tomato soup and brings a lot of flavor to the Ham and Bean Soup.) Add diced ham. Simmer on low heat for at least an hour to fully develop flavors and to reduce the liquid. Stir occasionally.

Liquid content is a matter of personal preference. I prefer less liquid so I simmer it longer. If you prefer more liquid in your soup, your soup will be finished sooner than mine. But please, simmer long enough to develop the flavors. 

As with many things, leftovers are great and this seems to benefit from a night in the refrigerator. 

Mom likes this soup with cornbread.