Aunt Ginnys Bean Soup Recipes

Steps:

• For the ham starter: Trim meat off the bone. Place meat and bone in a pressure cooker and cover with water. Pressure cook for 45 minutes. Release pressure, then clean and chop meat and strain broth. This can be divided into 4 portions of starter. Freeze 3 of the portions for future use and set the remaining portion aside.
• For the glace: Put flour and salt in food processor. While it's running, stream in the eggs. Mix thoroughly. Put bench flour on a table, then dump dough out and knead to combine. Let rest 20 minutes. Flour table again and roll to about 1/4-inch thick, then cut into small squares with a pizza cutter. Make sure there's enough flour so the dumplings don't stick together. Rough them up in your hands to make them rustic looking. Put into a dry strainer and shake off excess flour.
• For the soup: Combine the reserved ham starter, ham base, green beans and their juice and potatoes in a pot. Add water to fill about three-quarters of the way. Bring it all to a boil. Add the glace directly to the pot and cook until they float.
• Combine the evaporated milk, sour cream and heavy cream in a separate bowl. Add some hot broth and whisk until completely smooth. Add the tempered cream mixture to the soup. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Let simmer together for 45 minutes.

Steps:

• Wash beans and add water to cover 2 inches over the beans.
• Soak overnight.
• Drain and put in a 6-8 quart pot.
• Cover with 2 quarts water, or use the ham stock made the day before (you may want to use chicken or vegetable broth if you didn't use a ham bone to make a stock).
• Remove meat from ham bone and dice, discarding any fat.
• Add the remaining ingredients and the meat removed from the ham bone and bring to a boil.
• Lower heat and simmer for 3-4 hours, or until the beans are tender.
• Sometimes I will add about 1 T chili powder to the soup for a change of pace.

Steps:

• Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add butter; allow butter to melt. Add onion, celery, and carrot and cook and stir until onion begins to turn translucent and golden, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook 1 more minute. Add beans and broth. Season with salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Set heat to medium high and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and let simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
• Place bread cubes in a saute pan. Drizzle with olive oil; season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toast bread cubes over medium heat until golden brown and crunchy, tossing occasionally, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle grated cheese over the bread cubes and continue to brown cubes about 2 more minutes.
• Puree soup with an immersion blender until it is very smooth. Whisk in creme fraiche. Stir in lemon juice. Serve topped with browned bread cubes and chopped parsley.