Bean soup was something that I had never considered until just a few years ago, it just never sounded like something good. My husband talked about it occasionally and I just blew it off. Then one day I thought I'm getting tired of making split pea soup with the ham bone, so I decided to give it a try. And that was it, I became a lover of bean soup. As an added benefit, it is pretty healthy too. You don't have to do the dumplings, but I gotta say, I do love em!
Soup:
2 pounds of smoked ham hocks or a ham bone
3 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 bay leaf
1 pound dry northern beans, rinsed
1 32 ounce carton of chicken stock
water
salt and pepper
Dumplings:
3 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper
1 to 2 Tablespoons chives
3/4 cup flour
For the soup, heat a large pot on the stove top, and drizzle with oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add your chopped vegetables to the pan and cook for a few minutes. Add in the ham hocks or the ham bone, pour in the stock, and then add enough water to cover the bone. Add the bay leaf, beans, salt and pepper. The amount of salt will depend on how salty the ham bone is and how salty the chicken stock is. So start with less and add more if needed.
Bring the soup to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low for about 3 to 4 hours until the beans are tender. Remove the ham hocks or soup bone to make room for the dumplings.
To make the dumplings;
beat the eggs in a small bowl, add in the salt and pepper and the chives, then add in flour a scoup at a time and mix with a fork. The batter will be thick. Drop by spoon fulls over the soup and cook for about 15 minutes. These dumplings are kind of hard (which we like for bean soup), they are not soft and fluffy like some dumplings are, but they are soo good!
What kind of dumplings do you prefer?
