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Ham and Pinto Bean Soup

Bake bread and make soup.  It's something to do when you are stuck home - and the rewards are numerous!


1 lb dried pinto beans

2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 sweet yellow onion, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves (or 1 tsp dry)
2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dry)
1 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves (or 1/2 tsp dry)
3 fresh sage leaves

2 quarts broth (your choice - I used home made chicken stock) or water

1/2 lb ham, cubed
1/2 lb polish sausage (I used Teton Water’s Ranch grass fed beef sausage)
1/3 cup pearl barley
2 cups chopped kale leaves, packed
1 Tbsp favorite hot sauce (I used Texas Pete’s)

Pick through the beans and discard any stones or discolored beans.  Rinse well and submerge in water at least 2 inches above the beans. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt and stir the beans to dissolve the salt.  Allow to soak at least 6-8 hours (depending on the age of the bean), until the beans have hydrated evenly - no wrinkles evident. I stated soaking at breakfast and started cooking at 4pm for dinner.

Mince the garlic and herbs together by pulsing in a small food processor.
Sauté the mirepoix - the carrots, celery and onion - in a good dash of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot.
I used a bit of schmaltz (rendered fat) skimmed from the top of my refrigerated home made stock.  Cook for about 10 minutes until veggies are softened and very fragrant.

Add the herbs and cook another 2-3 minutes.
Drain the beans.
Add beans to the soup pot.
Add the broth and bring to a gentle boil.
Reduce the heat to a lazy simmer - you should see many beans begin to float.
Cover and cook for an hour, stirring often to assure even cooking.  Check to assure you have a lazy simmer maintained throughout the cooking period.

Meanwhile brown the sausage and the ham in a separate skillet, with a dash of olive oil.
Add the browned meat and the barley to the beans once the beans have softened to the bite (but are not yet completely cooked) - about an hour of simmering.
Bring to a gentle boil and reduce to a lazy simmer.  Cook covered for about 20 minutes.
Finally add the kale.
 Cook another 15-20 minutes, until all the beans and barley are cooked - still firm, but cooked through. All in all you should need about 1-1/2 to 2 hours of cooking time - but this time may extend if the beans were older.

Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed (mine did not with all the sausage and ham).  Season with hot sauce to taste.

Serves 6-8.

Cook’s Note: If you do not have access to fresh herbs, just match the garlic with 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence or dried Italian herbs - it will be delicious. You could use most any favorite dried bean for this prep - examples are cannellini, Navy, pink or black beans.

In the picture of the drained beans above, you can see the cooled, slightly jellied home made chicken stock I used.
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