Ingredients
- 1 cup dried navy or great northern beans
- 2 ham hocks, 1 cup ham, or 6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
- 8 cups boiling water
- 1 bay leaf
- 6-8 pepper corns
- 6 whole cloves
- 2 diced carrots
- 6 ribs celery with leaves, chopped
- 1 sliced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 cup freshly mashed potatoes (optional)
Preparation
Soak beans overnight in 3 cups water. Next morning, drain beans, place in large pot.
Add ham hocks, ham, bacon, water, bayleaf, peppercorns and cloves. Cook slowly until beans are soft, about 2-1/2 to 3 hours.
Then add: carrots, celery, onion, garlic, mashed potatoes if using.
Cook another 30 minutes until carrot, celery and onion are soft. Soup may be frozen at this point. After cooked or thawed, remove any large hunks of meat and mince. Return to soup. Take a small amount of soup and pass through blender and return to pot. This binds the soup together nicely.
Add ham hocks, ham, bacon, water, bayleaf, peppercorns and cloves. Cook slowly until beans are soft, about 2-1/2 to 3 hours.
Then add: carrots, celery, onion, garlic, mashed potatoes if using.
Cook another 30 minutes until carrot, celery and onion are soft. Soup may be frozen at this point. After cooked or thawed, remove any large hunks of meat and mince. Return to soup. Take a small amount of soup and pass through blender and return to pot. This binds the soup together nicely.
