Now some people might wonder why I'd dedicate the last week of May to some posts about spring soups. Well, if you are like me, you know (or are) someone who deals with spring allergies or has the occasional spring cold. If that's the case, you know how helpful it can be to have some comforting soup on hand. Beyond that, spring produce brings unique opportunities to take advance of freshness and variety to get your body everything it needs to heal. So this week, grab your stockpot after your trip to the garden, farmer's market, or CSA farm and get ready to bring the best kind of comfort food to the table.
This first recipe is a great vegetable-packed white bean soup featuring leftover chopped ham. A perfect vehicle for those last bits of frozen Easter or Mother's Day ham, it pulls flavors from onions and garlic to carrots and green beans and more. It cooks quickly - in about a half hour - and stores beautifully in the refrigerator, especially if you ladle it into mason jars and store it in the back of the refrigerator. If you have other spring vegetables you'd like to include, feel free.
I am a sucker for a cup of soup with a sandwich, but this soup will also play nicely with a salad on the side or even just a bit of crusty bread for sopping up the last bit in the bowl. However you enjoy it, make sure you give yourself a pat on the back for planning ahead for leftovers during allergy season!
Vegetable Bean Soup with Ham
- 1 yellow onion
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 quarts chicken or ham broth
- 2 large carrots
- 8 ounces green beans
- 2 cups chopped ham
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 can (15.5 ounce) cannelloni beans, drained
- 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, finely shredded plus more for serving
- Kosher salt, to taste
Chop the onion and smash the garlic cloves. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add broth; bring to a simmer over medium heat.
While the broth simmers, coarsely shred the carrots and trim and cut the green beans into bite-sized pieces. Add the carrots, green beans, ham, black pepper, cannelloni beans, and 1 ounce of cheese to the broth; stir gently. Season to taste with salt.
Ladle the soup evenly into individual bowls; sprinkle with additional cheese, if desired.
- Yields: 8-10 servings
- Preparation Time: 30 minutes