PUERTO RICAN BEAN & HAM SOUP

Puerto Rican Bean & Ham Soup image

Provided by My Food and Family

Categories Home

Time 9h15m

Number Of Ingredients 13

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Ingredients

1 bag (16 oz.) Navy beans
8 cups water
2 slices bacon, diced
1 sm. onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
Ground black pepper
3 tbs p. finely chopped cilantro
1 lb thick ham (such as ham steak), diced
2 oz thick sliced salami, diced (optional)
3 tsp salt or to taste
2 oz spaghetti, broken up into 2-inch lengths
8 oz tomato sauce

Steps:

Soak beans overnight in plenty of cold water to cover.
The next day, pick over and rinse beans well. Place in pan with 8 cups cold water. Bring to boil and immediately reduce to simmer. Keeping partially covered, simmer until beans are tender, about 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, saute bacon until it begins to color. Reserve 2 tablespoons fat and drain off any excess. (If preferred, all the bacon fat can be drained and replaced with 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil.)
Make a SOFRITO by sauteing the onion, garlic, bell pepper, black pepper and cilantro or cilantro until wilted in the hot oil. Add ham and salami and saute another 1 or 2 minutes. Add SOFRITO to beans, using water from beans to loosen any last bits from bottom. Consistency of soup should be thick, but not like a stew. If necessary, add enough water to the pan to give it soup-like consistency. Simmer 15 minutes. Add salt, spaghetti and tomato sauce to beans. Cook 7 more minutes. Taste for salt and serve.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 0 g, Fat 0 g, SaturatedFat 0 g, TransFat 0 g, Cholesterol 0 g, Sodium 0 g, Carbohydrate 0 g, Fiber 0 g, Sugar 0 g, Protein 0 g