WHITE BEAN, LEEK AND HAM SOUP

WHITE BEAN, LEEK AND HAM SOUP image

Yield 8 people

Number Of Ingredients 12

1 lb. dried Great Northern Beans (cleaned, soaked and drained)
1 large whole onion (optional)
4 cloves (can stick into onion)
4 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp olive oil
1 chopped onion
3 minced garlic cloves
2 large leeks, chopped (white and pale green parts only)
8 - 12 oz. cooked ham, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1 sprig fresh rosemary

Steps:

In soup pot, bring to boil water, broth, beans, whole onion, cloves and bay leaf. Reduce heat and simmer partly covered for 45 min. Separately, saute in oil the chopped onion, garlic, leeks, ham and rosemary for one minute. Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes until very soft but do not brown. Add sauteed ingredients to soup and simmer partly covered for about 30 minutes. Discard whole onion, bay leaf and rosemary. Puree about 1/2 of the soup mixture until smooth and return to soup pot. Salt and pepper to taste.