White Beans and Ham

[Homegrown Hops]

I made this tonight with the left over ham I had from Christmas.

1-2 lbs Black Forest Ham (med dice)
1 pkg. Great Northern White Beans
1 Medium yellow onion (diced)
3 T dried Oregano
2 T olive oil
1 large can chicken broth (low-sodium)
some decent white wine
White truffle oil (optional)

Follow directions to quick soak the beans or soak overnight. Drain and rinse beans and set aside.

Saute' onion over medium heat in olive oil until they start to show some color. Deglaze pan with small splash of wine and add ham chunks and turn heat up enough to get the ham sizzling vigorously then deglaze again with the white wine. When wine has reduced, add the can of chicken broth and bring the heat back up before dumping in the beans. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer, add oregano and simmer until the beans are tender to your liking. Turn off heat. You could puree this but I use a potato masher and smash up about half the beans and serve with a drizzle of White truffle oil and a slice of crusty bread.

Options: omit the ham and just make a white bean soup, garnish with fried Julienne of proscuito and truffle oil.

*** I did not add any salt to this at all and it seemed to be salty enough from the "lo-sodium" broth and the ham. I will probably add some white pepper in the future.


Chow,
HH

[Triple Freak]

I made something similar to this last night, but I make mine southern style. I used Navy beans & leftover baked Easter ham.
I soaked the beans overnight, until they plumped back up. I boiled the ham for 1 hour before adding anything else. It was still on the bone - very important step to leave it on the bone.
I added 2 small chopped onions, a carrot, 2 ribs of celery, a pinch of dry garlic, a pinch of chili flakes, a bay leaf, & some black pepper.
I also add 2 tablespoons of soup base. Never use bouillon cubes, because all they are is salt. Use soup base instead.
Boil for another 1.5 hrs. or until beans are tender.