Navy Bean Soup

Following up on the theme of easy home cooking, I'm starting a series called 'One Pot Fits All' (OPFA) - check out the Table of Contents on the right hand column.

Today's contribution to the OPFA (otherwise known as "op-fah") family is known simply as "Beans". Like when The Boy would ask his momma what was for dinner, she would quite often say "Beans".

That is code for Navy Bean Soup - a good 'ol Southern dish.

Incidentally, you would never believe what Southern boys talk about when they're gathered around the dinner table. That's right, food - like their momma used to make it. Fried okra, fried chicken, fried catfish, cornbread... the list goes on. Southern boys are uniquely good-looking too, quite beside the point.

So yesterday, The Boy and I are trailing the aisles at our local Whole Foods, and suddenly I lose him. I retrace my steps, only to find him standing, almost stupified, in front of a big silver pot poised on a nice table with some paper tubs and lids. What's wrong? I ask. He points to the big silver pot. I look inside.

Yes, you got it right. It was Beans.

Now, to be honest, we both found the Whole Foods version quite awful. But it did get The Boy going. He couldn't sleep last night, and the first thing he did when dawn broke (and it was a decent time) was to call his momma back home to get the recipe for Beans.

So off we were to a butcher (I found one in Houston at last!) to get some smoked ham hocks, and then to the grocery store for some navy beans and cornbread ingredients. And for the whole afternoon, our apartment was filled with the lovely smells of Beans slow-cooking atop the stove.

It was delicious too, with cornbread and freshly churned butter (Central Market is selling the churned butter that used to be hawked at Borough Market!). We ate in silence (always a good sign). It was just what I needed after a long run - a healthy, hearty, navy bean soup.


RECIPE: NAVY BEAN SOUP
Equipment - One big pot

A -
2 lbs Navy beans
1 lb Smoked ham hock
1/2 Large onion (or 1 Small onion), diced

B -
2 Carrots, diced
1 Jalapeno, diced
1/2 Large onion (or 1 Small onion), diced


A - Put the beans, ham hock and onion in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer on low heat for at least 4 hours, if not the whole afternoon. The soup should be reduced to a thick consistency by the time you're ready to eat.

B - 40 minutes before serving, add the diced carrots, onion and jalapeno. The Boy does this right after he pops the cornbread into the oven.

Serve warm with cornbread.

Beans, beans, the magical fruit,
The more you eat, the more you toot!
The more you toot, the better you feel,
So let's have beans for every meal!