Ham and Navy Bean Soup

The season of soup is upon my household and my favorite soup of all time has to be ham and navy bean soup. This is usually made after we make a ham for dinner the week prior. This allows leftovers to be repurposed into second delicious dinner.

Ingredients
Ham bone and leftover meat (cubed or shredded)
1lb Navy beans
1 Chopped Onion
6 Cloves of garlic (I like garlic)
1 TBSP thyme (fresh preferred)
2 TSP ground cumin (fresh preferred)
2 TSP crushed red pepper
10 cups of stock (water is fine)

1. Soak your beans overnight.
2. Cook the onion in a big pot with a little bit of oil with the ham bone for a few minutes. Let the onions get a little transparent.
3. Throw in the garlic until fragrant.
4. Add everything else and bring it to a boil.
5. Once at a boil, lower temperature to a simmer and let it cook for around a hour covered. You want the beans to be tender.
6. Remove the bone and strip any meat back into the soup. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Enjoy!

Sometimes I will remove the lid during step 5. to thicken the liquid/remove some liquid if it seems there is too much. I like to break up some crackers in my soup to suck up some moisture. A splash of hot sauce sometimes gives it that little extra kick as well.

I grew up spending a lot of time at my grandparents house and one of the food items I associate with that time period was ham and navy bean soup. My grandmother could cook with whatever she had on hand and this was part of her collection of recipes she had on index cards found on the kitchen counter. Simple but delicious, this kept bellies full and smiles on faces.

My dad makes similar after ham.