H&H Saturday Soups and Stews: Bean Soup with Country Ham & Okra

• 1 meaty ham bone
• Equal amounts low sodium chicken broth and water to cover the bone
• 1 cup each: diced onion, carrots, and celery
• 1/2 cup diced fennel (optional)
• 1 cup okra (certainly optional this time of year)
• 2 14.5 ounce cans navy beans
• 2 14.5 ounce cans chopped tomato
• 2T chopped fresh parsley

Cover the ham bone in a large pot with the water and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 1/2 hours — turning bone over halfway during the simmering process. Add all diced vegetables (except okra if using) and simmer until softened 20-30 minutes. At this time, remove the ham bone and separate the meat from the bone. The meat should shred into pieces similar to the photo above. Return shredded pieces of ham and add okra, beans and tomatoes on a light simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Stir in chopped parsley and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Serve soup with crusty bread:

This was a recipe I put together in an effort to use everything I had in the fridge and pantry — what I got was a heartwarming soup with loads of good ham flavor. The okra did thicken the soup so you may need to adjust the liquid by adding a little more water towards the end.

All in all we have been really lucky so far this winter — hopefully we will continue this trend on into February, but then again I am secretly hoping for a really good snow! What have you been fixing this week and weekend to keep the winter chill off? Why not get that bone out of the freezer tonight to thaw so you can enjoy this soup during football tomorrow!

H&H Saturday Soups and Stews is written by RVA resident, Tim Vidra. It’s a monthly series of soups and stews where Tim tries the recipes he finds first and then passes them on to you with his stamp of approval. Find more recipes on Tim’s food blog, E.A.T., advocating the use of simple local ingredients and sharing tips for how to incorporate them into dishes that will impress.