Bean and Ham Hock Soup with Kale and Croutons

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

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Bean and Ham Hock Soup with Kale and Croutons

This recipe makes 12 servings

Nutritional Info
Per serving: about	-
cal	251251 cal
pro	16 g16g pro
total fat	10 g10g total fat
sat. fat	2 g2g sat. fat
carb	25 g25g carb
fibre	6 g6g fibre
chol	25 mg25mg chol
sodium	669 mg669mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	1010 calcium
iron	2222 iron
vit A	8181 vit A
vit C	6565 vit C
folate	4141 folate

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The flavour of ham permeates this hearty soup. Ham hocks come in different sizes, and for this recipe, the weight does not need to be exact.

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 2tbsp tbspextra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion , chopped1 1large oniononions, chopped
3 stalks celery , thinly sliced3 3stalks celery, thinly sliced
3 carrots , thinly sliced3 3carrotcarrots, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves , minced3 3garlic clovegarlic cloves, minced
1 can (5-1/2 oz/156 mL) tomato paste 1 1can can(5-1/2 oz/156 mL) tomato paste
1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 1/2tsp tsppepper
3 cups cooked navy beans 3 3cups cupscooked navy beannavy beans or Great Northern beans
6 cups chopped kale leaves 6 6cups cupschopped kale leafkale leaves
Stock:
3 lb smoked ham hocks 3 3lb lbsmoked ham hocksmoked ham hocks
1 onion , quartered1 1oniononions, quartered
1 stalk celery , quartered1 1stalk celery, quartered
4 sprigs fresh thyme 4 4sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves 2 2bay leafbay leaves
1/2 tsp peppercorns 1/2 1/2tsp tsppeppercorns
Croutons:
3 cups cubed trimmed Italian bread 3 3cups cupscubed trimmed Italian bread
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 3 3tbsp tbspextra-virgin olive oil
1 pinch salt 1 1pinch salt
1 pinch pepper 1 1pinch pepper

Preparation

Stock: In large stockpot or slow cooker, combine ham hock, onion, celery, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns and 12 cups (3 L) cold water. Cover and cook on low heat, skimming off foam as necessary, for 4 hours on stove top or for 8 to 10 hours in slow cooker.

Remove hock and let cool enough to handle. Discard skin, fat and bone. Using fork or fingers, shred ham. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

Strain stock through fine sieve into large bowl, pressing vegetables to extract liquid. Remove fat. (Make-ahead: Let cool for 30 minutes; cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.)

Croutons: In bowl, toss together bread, oil, salt and pepper; spread on rimmed baking sheet. Bake in 400°F (200°C) oven, tossing once, until golden and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool on rack. (Make-ahead: Let cool; store in airtight container for up to 24 hours.)

In Dutch oven or stockpot, heat oil over medium heat; fry onion, celery, carrots and garlic until softened, 8 minutes.

Add tomato paste and pepper; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add stock, cooked beans and shredded ham; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Add kale; simmer until tender, about 7 minutes. (Make-ahead: Let cool for 30 minutes; refrigerate in airtight container for up to 3 days.) Serve topped with croutons.

Additional information : Cooking Dried Beans
Rinse and soak 1 cup (250 mL) dried beans overnight in 3 cups (750 mL) cold water. Or for quick-soak method, bring to boil and boil gently for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain.

In saucepan, cover beans again with 3 times their new volume of water and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes for navy beans or until tender. (Cooking times for other soaked beans range up to 90 minutes.)

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: February 2008