Black Beans and Ham Hocks
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. smoked ham hocks
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 ribs celery
- 1 poblano
- 4 cloves garlic
- a few sprigs of thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 c. water
- 1 lb. black beans
- 1 tbsp. paprika
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- 4 carrots cut into medallions
- 8 oz. peeled pearl onions
- 1/2 lb. smoked sausage
Method
Dice the onions, carrots, and celery. Cut up the poblano into small pieces. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven and add the vegetables. Let the vegetables take on some color.
Remove the vegetables and place them onto a piece of cheesecloth. Slice up the garlic and add that to the cheesecloth. Add the thyme and bay leaves to the cheesecloth. Bind the cheesecloth with some butcher's twine.
Put the ham hocks and the cheesecloth in the pot. Add the water, the beans, the paprika, the cumin, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then drop the heat to low. Simmer with the lid on until the beans begin to get soft.
Remove the cheesecloth from the pot. Add in the carrot medallions and the pearl onions. Continue simmering until the carrots are soft.
Remove the ham hocks and add in the sausage. Cut up the hocks into pieces if you like and add the pieces to the soup.
Notes
This is a hearty and filling bean soup made from ham hocks, which can sometimes be purchased for very little. Keeping the simmering vegetables out of the final product can give an elegant finish to this soup.
2020-01-01 - One ham hock is probably plenty. The soup had a stick-to-your-ribs consistency. The flavor was very subtle, but enjoyable.