Black Bean and Ham Soup Recipe
23. Nov, 2009 
6 Comments
I enjoyed the cassoulet with it’s firm fresh beans so much that I couldn’t wait to make something else from dried beans. For my second dried bean experiment I chose to make an easy soup from black beans and a smoked ham hock. The spices bring out the richness in the beans and by blending some of the soup the texture is thick and pulpy.
The soup itself has very simple flavours and is equally simple to make. You could easily make this soup in a crockpot and since there are no tomatoes or other acidic components the beans will cook properly with little intervention. Like many stewy dishes this is even better the next day.
Black Bean and Ham Soup Recipe
(serves 4)
1 cup dried black beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 ham hock
1 green onion, diced
plain yogourt
Soak the beans over night in 3 cups water, or if you are like me, bring the beans and water to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, turn off the heat and let sit for an hour.
Discard bean soaking liquid and set beans aside. In your soup pot heat olive oil to medium low. Sweat onions, celery and carrot for 5 minutes or until onions translucent. Add spices, as well as a big pinch of salt and grinding of pepper, add beans, ham hock and 5 cups of water. Bring to a simmer, uncovered and simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasioanlly.
Remove ham hock and allow to cool enough to handle. Using an immersion blender blend until the texture is thick. Discard the fat and bones from the ham, chop up and add back to soup. Stir in green onion, reserving some for garnish. Taste and correct for seasoning. The salt levels will vary depending on your ham.
Serve topped with yogourt and green onion.
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Originally started as a way to document and learn to cook, the site chronicles my journey as I learn a few new things, create recipes, and have a disaster or two.
Great recipe, thanks for sharing!
I'm such a sucker for any bean soup, but black bean is my favorite. This looks like a great recipe!
looks great, and I LOVE beans, the silkiness and ability to soak flavors… yum. a little tip is to boil a peeled potato along with the beans. this makes the beans even more silky smooth. just discard the potato after cooking.
I went to a pretty authentic feeling cuban restaurant I barcelona and what stuck to my mind was the use of yuca/cassava with garlic as a kind of mash, crunchy fried plantains, black beans (whole, mixed with rice or refried mush), lovely slow cooked meats AND MOJITOS!!! so looks like your recipe fits perfectly
Regards,
B& B – great tip! I will definitely try this next time.
This is my kind of soup! The ham adds so much flavour!
I love using dried beans, it’s so much fun! Looks so yummy!