This rustic and soul-warming Hungarian Ham and Bean Soup can be made on the stove or in the slow cooker. Great northern beans, carrots, ham, and seasonings in a rich broth. This recipe is ideal for holiday ham bones!
Ingredient
– 1 pound dried Great Northern bean– 1 ham bone + ham scraps – 1 large onion– 4 carrot– 3 celery stalk– 4 cloves garlic– 10 cups water– 2 tsp bouillon paste– 2 bay leave– 10-12 cups water– 2 to 3 teaspoons white vinegar– Salt and pepper
Ingredient
ROUX– ¼ cup vegetable oil – ¼ cup flour– 1½ cups of broth– 2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika– Salt and pepper– 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Direction
1
The Night Before
Sort beans the night before using this method. Remove debris and cracked beans from the pound of great northern white beans.
2
Pour 6 cups of cool water over the beans in a large bowl. Add a few inches of water above the beans because they absorb water. Soak the beans overnight or at least 6 hours. Beans double in size and soften during this time. Do not soak longer than 24 hours.
3
Make soup without soaking overnight (mom's method)
Check the beans for debris and breakage and discard them. Cold-rinse and colander the beans.
4
Cover beans with water 2 inches above.
Add the ham bone, onion chunks, garlic cloves, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. After boiling for 5-7 minutes, the ham bone may emerge from the water.Try pushing it back in, but it's okay if it peeks out).
5
Heat oil (or butter or lard) in a small skillet over medium heat. Add flour smoothly. Pan should be covered in flour after 2-3 minutes. Starts white, turns light gold. Never let it turn golden to brown—it will taste burned and need a restart.
6
Reheat the pan on medium-low and add some soup broth (no beans). It thickens when added in small batches while stirring. To remove lumps, use a whisk instead of a spoon. Continue adding broth and stirring until full.
7
Put beans, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and ham bone in slow cooker. Cover with water. Slow-cook soup 6-8 hours. The roux thickens soup when ham chunks are added in the last 30 minutes. Salt and pepper as needed. When ready, discard bay leaf. After forking, add ham to soup.