Soup that is a Piece of Cake

Where did the expression "piece of cake" come from? For someone who doesn't really enjoy baking (myself), this doesn't necessarily imply "easy." I guess boxed cake is easy, but that's cheating...

Now soup, however...that's easy. Especially the one I made over the weekend! It's a delicious, hearty winter stew that takes the edge off the cold weather. It's ridiculously simple to make, pretty healthy, and rather cheap as well. I've had a bag of gorgeous Rancho Gordo "pebbles" sitting around, and I've been dying to make something delicious with them. You basically just throw a bunch of ingredients into a pot and cook away!

So pardon the Arrested Development reference, but here's the recipe for Hot Ham Water.

Hot Ham Water (aka Smoked Ham, Bean and Greens Soup)

Serves 6

• 1 lb bag of high-quality dried beans, picked over, soaked for 4-6 hours and drained. I used a bag of mixed heirloom beans, but use whatever you like to eat.
• 1 ham shank or (ham hock)
• 1 carrot, cut into 3 pieces
• 1 onion, cut in half
• 1 celery stalk, cut into 3 pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 4 c chicken stock
  2 c water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 stalk fresh rosemary
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 5 peppercorns
• 1 T herbes de provence
• 1 1/2 bunches of swiss chard or kale, washed well (I like to use swiss chard with red stems, it adds color)
• salt and pepper

1. Make a bouquet garni by using kitchen twine to tie the bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, peppercorns and herbes de provence in a piece of cheesecloth.
2. Add the bouquet garni, beans, ham shank, carrot, onion, celery, garlic, chicken stock and water to a large pot or dutch oven. Make sure there is enough liquid to cover all the ingredients and add more water as needed. You can make the soup to your desired consistency. (You can add a splash of red wine or worchestershire sauce here to add extra depth).
3. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook over low heat for two to three hours or until the beans are cooked through.
4. Pull out the ham shank and shred any meat that is attached. Return the meat to the pot.
5. Remove the onion, carrot, and celery. If any of the garlic cloves are still intact, remove them as well.
4. Prepare the chard by cutting the leafy part away from the stem (the stems take longer to cook). Cut the leaves into 1/2 in wide strips. If you want to include the stems, remove the tough outer layer with a vegetable peeler and cut into one inch wide pieces. Add the stems to the pot, then bring the liquid up to a slow simmer. 5 minutes later, add the leaves and cook until tender.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Important - do not add salt until this step! Salt will make the beans cook slower if you add it before they're done. Chard has a bit of a salty flavor, too, and that will impact the flavor of the soup.

Serve with warm crusty bread and butter. Enjoy!