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Lorin's New Years Ham and Bean Soup - 2012

(Changed from 2011 to reduce tomato paste and amount of cayanne pepper)

Sort separately and soak ½ lb each of your favorite beans overnight with about a tablespoon of cayenne pepper (to taste):

Blackeye Peas (of course!)

Pink Beans

Pinto Beans

Red Kidney Beans

Baby Lima Beans

In morning, drain and taste beans, avoid rinsing as we need the starch to build the broth.

Now the rest of the ingredients:

½ lb Bacon (fatty rather than lean)

½ stick butter

4 cloves garlic (mash or mince while rendering bacon)

2 large onions white or yellow

4 Tbls Olive or Vegatable Oil

4 Tbls White Flour

2 quarts Stock, vegatable or chicken

6 to 8 oz can Tomato Paste

1-2 LB Ham and ham hock

2 Bay Leaf

Thyme and/or Sage (maybe rosemary)

2 Tbls sugar

2 Tbls Black Pepper

2 Tbls Paprica

Salt to taste

Add up a few teaspoons of cayenne pepper while simmering, remember you can add more, but it's hard to take it out.

Need 5-6 Qt stock pot

New years eve, sort beans separately so you can find rocks or other debries more easily. If you use the black beans, recommend you soak them separately so they don't darken the color of the other beans. Soak overnight (at least 6 hours).

(prep, finely mince garlic and dice onion)

New years morning: Save plenty of bacon fat from breakfast or render ½ lb bacon for fat on medium-low heat. Add ½ stick butter and 4 (or more) cloves of garlic, mashed or minced, raise the heat and let the garlic toast. Add diced onion and allow to carmalize, stirring very frequently. Add some oil if needed. When onions are nicely translucent and carmalized, add 4 Tbls of olive or vegetable oil along with approximately 4 Tbls of flour. Stir to begin a reu. Base should be a bit thck and pasty at this point. Add a small can of tomato paste. Add cayenne pepper to taste as well as any other seasonings (I kind of do it as I go along).

When base has reached the desired consistency, add 2 quarts of stock and the pre-soaked, drained beans and peas, along with the ham hock and diced ham. Add remaining seasonings (bay leaf, thyme, paprica, black pepper). Also add a couple of Tbls sugar to counteract acidity of tomato. Salt to taste, though there may be plenty in the ham.

Bring to a boil and back down to a simmer. If you don't feel there's enough ham on the hock, buy some additional lean, smoked ham and dice it. I've often split some of the stock at this point into another pot or slow-cooker and added more beans, ham and water or chicken stock. Ladle back and forth to get the flavor from the hock. Let simmer for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Add water as needed, to your preferred consistency. I like it thicker, like a stew, others may want to thin it down more like a soup. Serve with your favorite bread (french or corn bread with a bit of green chile)

I love feedback, let me know if you like it (or hate it) - Lorin