White Bean and Ham Soup
A delicious, comforting soup that is a great way to use some of your leftover holiday ham.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup diced white onion
- 1 carrot peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3 or 4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 15 ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 1-1/2 cups chopped fully-cooked ham
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
For the Croutons
- 2 cups cubed 1-inch French bread
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and cook the vegetables over medium high heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add thyme sprigs and cook, stirring for another minute. Add the chicken broth and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the melted butter, olive oil, and garlic powder in a small dish. Place bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the butter mixture and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until toasted.
- Remove pan from the heat and discard the thyme sprigs. Use an immersion blender to process the soup until thickened but not totally smooth. Alternately, working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and puree slightly, leaving some beans whole. Return the soup to the pot and stir in the diced ham and warm over low heat for a few minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
- Top individual servings with the croutons.
- Store leftovers in refrigerator. Thin with a little water or additional chicken broth, if necessary, for desired consistency when reheating.
- Adapted from Food and Wine