Smoked Ham Soup with White Beans

By ahensnest

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Two 14.5-ounce cans white beans, drained & rinsed
• 2 bay leaves
• ham hock, optional
• 2 cups chopped smoked ham
• One 14.5-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 25mins
Cooking time 110mins
Adapted from recipegirl.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add broth, water, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper and bay leaves. If you happen to have a ham hock available to you, throw that in too. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat; simmer for about an hour.

2. Add beans and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Remove ham hock (if using).

3. Place 1 cup of bean mixture in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Return pureed bean mixture to the pan, add chopped ham and tomatoes and stir until blended. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until ham is heated through, and then serve.