Who doesn't like soup? Especially when it's cold and damp like it has been around here lately. I stocked up on hams after Easter (gotta love sale prices) and I experimented with a smaller ham (about 7 pounds) to see how many meals I could get out of one ham. Well...I did manage to get 4 meals out of it but I also managed to slice up my finger and win a trip to St. Joe's fancy schmancy new ER. It's way nicer than it used to be. But I digress...back to food.
This is a super easy, flavorful creamy ham & potato soup. It can be made dairy free very easily and is already gluten free for those that can't have gluten. Of course I served it with my No Bricks Allowed Whole Wheat Bread which is most surely NOT GF. The pureed beans up the protein and give that creamy mouth feel without needing to add a lot of cream to the dish so that helps keep this soup low fat too. Best part is that the soup is also one of those soups you can park in the crock pot all day or throw on the stove and get on the table in just under 30 minutes. It all depends on how much time you have and how small you chop the potatoes. Enjoy!
Ingredients
4 cups cubed potatoes (4-6 potatoes)
2 cups cubed ham
Drizzle of olive oil (to coat pan)
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove chopped garlic
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
8 cups water, chicken or veggie broth
4 oz. cream cheese, cut into smaller chunks (can use dairy free version easily)
1 can white beans, pureed (or 1 cup of pureed bean paste)
additional salt & pepper to taste
Directions
1. Chop onions, ham and potatoes, set ham & potatoes aside.
2. Heat medium size sauce pan and add olive oil. Add onion.
3. Saute onion until starting to turn golden brown.
4. Add ham and cook until you start to see the edges of the ham turn golden brown. You don't want the ham to dry out but you do want to caramelize the ham to bring out the flavors some.
5. Stir in garlic and other spices, cook for about a minute more.
6. Add in cooking liquid (water or stock) and chopped potatoes.
7. Stir in pureed beans and cream cheese and let soup simmer until potatoes are cooked through, stirring only occasionally to help the cheese blend in all the way.
8. Soup can sit simmering for hours but you may need to add in additional water if it reduces too much. Serve with bread, a swirl of sour cream if you want or topped with some cheddar cheese. Very fulling and satisfying soup.
RITK
2 comments:
do you know I've never made a ham in my entire life? I don't even know how to do it.
Good thing you have a friend who is always willing to show you...or make it for you.
But for this recipe I just cut the ham off the bone. You don't even need to buy a whole ham to make this. You can buy the ham already cubed up from the store.
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