Quarantine Cooking

[Too Tall]

Before the quarantine I bought a spiral cut ham for Easter dinner with wife, kids and grandkids. Needless to say, that didn’t work out. Sliced up the ham and put most in the freezer and now I have this great looking bone with scraps of meat hanging off. My thoughts are a great big pot of bean soup so I’m looking for favorite recipes.

I know you guys are holding.
Mike

I've been riffing on this for a while. Simplify it based on what you actually have on hand but you get it. Any nice big bean cooked until it forgives you is good. *I liberated this recipe from: Seasonal Recipes & Easy Unique Twists on Classic Dishes - No Spoon Necessary BTW serving in bread bowls is = NFL clipping

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Ingredients

10 strips Bacon – diced
2 large Shallots – peeled & small dice (about 1 1/2 cup)
3 medium Carrot – peeled & small dice (about 3/4 cup)
3 medium Celery – small dice (about 3/4 cup)
4 small cloves Garlic – peeled & minced*
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes - more or less to taste
¾ tsp Kosher Salt
heaping 1/4 tsp Pepper
½ cup White Wine
4 Cups Reduced sodium Chicken Stock (can substitute vegetable stock)
2 (14.5 oz) cans Cannellini Beans UNDRAINED (can substitute great northern beans)*
2 sprigs fresh Rosemary
1 Bay leaf
1 Parmesan Cheese Rind
¼ - ½ Cup Heavy Cream (can substitute Half and Half)
Salt and Pepper , to taste
1 TBS fresh Parsley leaves – chopped, or more to taste
½ Cup Parmigiano Reggiano , plus more for serving

Instructions

Place a large stock pot over medium heat and add bacon. Cook until bacon is crisp and cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate, leaving bacon dripping in pan. Set aside.
You want about 1 tablespoon of drippings in the pot, if you do not have enough fat, add extra virgin olive oil to pan until you have about 1 tablespoon of liquid (just eyeball this).
Increase heat to medium high. Add shallots, carrot, and celery to pot. Cook, stirring frequently until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper; cook until aromatic, 30 seconds - 1 minute.
Add white wine to deglaze pan, scraping up brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until wine is reduced to 2 tablespoon, about 3-4 minutes
Add the Chicken stock, beans with their liquid, rosemary sprigs, bay leaf and parmesan rind (if using).
Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

Use tongs to remove rosemary sprigs, bay leaf and parmesan rind. Add in the bacon, half and half*, chopped parsley leaves and grated parmesan. Taste and adjust for seasoning. *Use ½ Cup for a creamier, richer texture and taste

Options To Finish:

1. Serve As Is.

2. Use and Immersion blender to blend until desired consistency. I gently and carefully blended about ½ of the soup for a slightly creamy yet rustic soup.

3. Remove a couple ladlefuls of beans, puree remaining soup, add back in removed beans.

4. Remove, in batches, to a blender and puree until desired consistency.
To serve: Ladle soup into bread bowls and garnish with grated parmesan cheese.