You may have read my earlier post about Plath’s and the beautiful ham that was destined for this recipe.  Truth be told, nothing beats a warming home made batch of soup on a cold December day.

I consulted my go to recipe book of late for a good take on bean soup and found a simple and straight forward solution.  This recipe features an important ‘hot soak’ method for pre-soaking dry beans.  It’s recommended that if you’re going to feature beans in a soup you should always start with dry beans and avoid the jarred beans in the supermarket, the flavor and heartiness of reconstituted dry beans always wins out in the end.

Mark Bittman, the New York Times’ food columnist known as the Minimalist, has produced some excellent cook books, I really recommend his encyclopedia like How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition), Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food ; in fact, I’ll drop a link for it in the Subrosa Online Shop, pick up a copy for a loved one this holiday season. 

Better yet, get on the phone and order up some of Plath’s incredible bacon or a house cured ham while you’re at it!

Bittman is also a frequent guest on the “Today” show and recently toured Spain with Gwyneth Paltrow, Mario Batali and a hot Spanish actress whose name escapes me right now for a PBS miniseries on food and cooking in Spain. 

He is known for his simple and straight forward recipes and has recently began to preach the virtues of “conscious eating” and promotes a healthy diet by bulking up on vegetables, legumes and fruit while avoiding processed carbohydrates, refined sugar and fast or convenient food.

Mark Bittman’s Basic Bean Soup Recipe

Makes about 8 servings, time 1-2 hours

3 cups of dried beans, washed and soaked

12 cups vegetable or chicken stock

2 medium onions, chopped fine

2 carrots, shaved or chopped fine

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Chopped fresh parsley (optional garnish)

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil when serving

Medium Ham Hock or smoked Port Knuckles for flavor ( I also threw in some cubed chunks of ham near the end of the cooking cycle)

1.  First, pre-soak your dry beans of choice.  I used about 16 ounces of beans, half great northern and half navy bean.  You can soak overnight covered in water or take the hot soak quick method which is simple and pretty quick.  Pour your beans into a tall stock pot and cover with cool water, about 2-3 inches over the beans.  Put on high heat and bring to a boil.  Boil for about 2 minutes, turn off heat and place tight fitting lid on the stock pot.  Let sit on the stove for 2 hours.

2. After your beans have soaked, pour and drain through a colander and pick out any discolored or bad beans you may find.

3. Put the beans back into the rinsed out stock pot over medium-high heat and add the stock, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves and thyme.  Finally, add your left over or purchased Ham Hock or smoked Pork Knuckle and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down so the mixture simmers steadily.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are very soft, at least 1 hour; add more liquid as necessary so the mixture remains soupy.

4. When the beans are tender, season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper.  At this point you can puree the soup in a blender or with a hand immersion blender.  Serve, garnished with fresh parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

The finished product