Borlotti Bean and Ham hock Soup

One of the items on my New Year’s Day menu was a juicy, spiral-carved, bone-in, smoked ham from Fresh Direct. Chef Joyce O’Neill, who helped me with the final preparations for the brunch, reminded me to save the ham hock. “It’s going to get really cold next week, and a hearty bean soup made with the leftover ham hock would be a great dish to have on hand.”

And indeed, it was. The first thing I did the following day was raid my cupboard. What type of dried beans were already “in the house?” If you’re like me, it’s easy to accumulate a selection over time. Then you forget which varieties you have and buy even more!

I am partial to dried heirloom beans. My personal collection is vast. In addition to basic dried beans such as lentils, flageolets, and split peas, I have stashed away: White Dutch beans for making cassoulet; Peregion beans from Oregon which cook up like a black bean; Anasazi, an ancient Navajo bean used for soups and Mexican dishes; and Vermont cranberry beans, a speckled staple also known in Italy as “Borlotti.”

Most of these choices were in small, 8-ounce packages but I needed more for my soup recipe. Luckily, I found a one-pound bag of Bartolini Italian Borlotti beans tucked away in the back of the shelf. That, plus my meaty, leftover ham hock and some homemade broth from the freezer and I was off and running!

I decided to develop a recipe for a Southern ham and bean soup in honor of my West Virginia-born mother. Not to neglect my father, (remember, last name is Palanci!), I added an Italian twist. Some fire-roasted tomatoes, oregano, and a handful of fresh spinach for color contrast. Divinely delicious. And nutritious too.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon EVOO

1 large onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1-pound dried Borlotti beans, (or cranberry), rinsed and picked over to remove any debris

1 large ham hock

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

2 quarts (8 cups) homemade vegetable broth (water works fine too!)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 14.5 ounce diced, fire roasted tomatoes with green chilis

1 cup fresh baby spinach, washed well

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste

Cooking instructions:

1. Pour olive oil into a large stock pot and over a medium flavor, sauté the chopped onion, carrot and celery for 5 minutes.

2. Add drained beans, ham hock, garlic and bay leaves. Pour in stock, then add chili powder and oregano. Bring to boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to stand for 1 hour.

3. Return the pot to the stovetop and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over a medium-low heat until flavors have blended, and beans have softened, at least 3 hours or up to 6 hours.

4. Once the beans start to soften, add the can of diced tomatoes.

5. During the last 15 minutes of simmering, remove the ham hock to a cutting board. Allow it to cool for ten minutes, then pull meat from the bone. Discard any white sinew or gristle and chop ham into 1/2-inch pieces, Return to the stockpot along with the fresh spinach. Adjust seasonings to taste. Remove the bay leaves.

6. Cook for 5 more minutes. Serve in warmed soup bowls along with grilled focaccia rubbed with garlic and lightly brushed with olive oil.

Serves: 8-10 servings

Wine recommendation: A full-bodied red such as a Côte du Rhône, Grenache, Zinfandel, Chianti Classico, Dolcetto or Montepulciano. Or even an old-fashioned, wood-aged California Chardonnay.