Ingredients:
l pound of lean cooked ham
1 medium onion diced
3 carrots diced
3 stalks celery diced
3-4 cloves fresh garlic minced
1Tbs of Italian Seasoning (recipe below)
1-2 bay leaves
8 cups chicken broth/stock
2 (15oz) cans of northern bean drained and rinsed
2-3 handfuls fresh of baby spinach
Garnish: Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Heat up a heavy bottom soup pot with two Tbs of oil. Once oil is hot, add 1lb of diced up ham. I used a Smithfield precooked pork chop style ham.
Add:
1 medium onion diced
3 carrots diced
3 stalks celery diced
3-4 cloves fresh garlic minced.
Saute' until carrots are tender and onions are translucent.
Add one Tbs of Dry Italian Seasoning. If you don't have Italian Season (I didn't) you can make some with these ingredients:
3 Tbs of dried Basil
3 Tbs of dried Oregano
3 Tbs dried Parsley
1 Tbs Onion Powder
1 tsp dried Thyme
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbs red pepper flake
I added ingredients into a small container and mixed all the ingredients together. This mix can be used with any Italian dishes so it's great to have on hand.
Saute' everything with the Italian Seasoning and a bay leaf for a minute.
Add 8 cups chicken broth/stock. I actually used on cartoon of chicken stock that equals 4 cups. I added four additional cups of water and added some granulated chicken bullion to stretch out the liquid.
Drained and rinse two (15oz) cans of northern beans.
If you want a creamier soup without adding the calories, take half the canned beans and put in a blender with some of the soup liquid from the pot. Blend until almost smooth.
Once the soup has had time to cook and all the veggies are tender add the creamed bean mixture and the whole canned beans into the soup.
I put in a few large handfuls fresh of baby spinach at the end just before I turned the soup off.
** I would suggest that you chop up the spinach a little bit. I didn't at first and then I realized that the spinach was still to big. Luckily, I was able to use a pair of kitchen shears and snipped the spinach up a bit before serving.
Also check for seasoning of salt here.
This soup will serve 4-6 people. Serve with crusty bread or garlic bread. You can also garnish with some parmesan cheese. Enjoy.
Copyright: All content, photos and text are property of Curry and Comfort and cannot be used without permission
Wow!,Healthy and comforting Soup this season.luks yummy.Luv it
ReplyDeleteThis looks wholesome, healthy, and so comforting! Also, if you're not careful, I'm going to raid your spice collection. ;)
ReplyDeleteOne of the ways I can tell I've grown up is that the spinach in here really, really appeals. It looks so good. I love the idea of mashing the beans to create the creaminess too. Your soup is absolutely perfect.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so tasty and I have a second what The Mom Chef said about adding mashed the beans, great idea!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful and hearty winter soup! Mashing the beans is such a great way to thicken the soup.
ReplyDeleteI love your method of pureeing those beans to add creaminess without the calories. Mmmmm! What a comforting looking soup.
ReplyDeleteGreat comforting soup.........U have awesome recipes. Glad to follow you. Do visit me at smart-snacks.blogspot.com whenever time permits.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! Ramona...I can't believe there is no cream here because it looks so wonderfully creamy!!! I am on a big white beans and fresh spinach kick lately. So great to find these ingredients used in the same dish! LOVE your photo...just look at those beautiful spices!
ReplyDeleteI love the trick of pureeing some of the beans! I am always looking for tricks to make soups creamy without adding cream. This looks like the perfect dish on a cold Autumn night (like tonight!). Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeletethis looks so comforting :) I love it!!
ReplyDeleteLooks wonderfully creamy and healthy!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds SO good right about now. Soup is so comforting after a long day!
ReplyDeleteOh, this soup looks fabulous! My hubby would love it and so would I! Yum!
ReplyDeleteSo smart to cream the beans to make it creamy! I am so doing this too! I totally want to make soup now that its getting colder in LA.
ReplyDeleteOh, this soup looks so comforting,creamy and healthy, fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThis looks delish! I love how you pureed the beans to give the soup a creamy texture!
ReplyDeleteI love this soup, Ramona! Great idea to use the beans to create the creamy texture without using heavy cream!
ReplyDeleteWhat a healthy and delicious looking soup! Personally, I see a wedge of cornbread sitting next to it. :)
ReplyDeleteRamona, this is delicious! What a clever way to add creaminess to a soup! Thanks SO much for sharing this one...it's delish!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so delicious, and such a great dish for a fall day! It reminds me of a soup my mom makes with spinach!
ReplyDeleteBean, ham and spinach! Yummmmm! My husband would love it!
ReplyDeleteI like that you pureed the beans instead of adding cream. I love a good, creamy soup, but don't eat them often because ream is just too full of fat for me. Now that it's starting to cool down a bit, I think this would be a nice soup to pack in my husband's lunch to take to work.
ReplyDeleteI like that you used pureed beans for texture, what a great idea.
ReplyDeleteTHAT looks so magnificent!! Can't wait to curl up on a cold winter's night with a bowl of that!
ReplyDelete