Soup with hambone?

I have a nice big hambone in my freezer, plenty of meat left on it, and would like to use it to make some nice soup. I am thinking a creamy potato soup or perhaps navy bean.

Anyone have any good recipes? Suggestions for improvising?

Thanks.

Split pea is always a classic-aromatic vegetables, garlic, fresh marjoram to finish-topped with croutons and crumbled bacon...

Here's what I'd do (and have done! : ) Ready the navy/gt. northern beans in your usual way: overnight soak or 2-min boil + 2 hour wait.

Begin the cooking with the bone in the water, and some lightly sauteed diced carrots and onions. Simmer for an hour or so, until the beans are noticeably more tender, but not ready-for-another-half-hour'ish. Add some more diced carrots, onions and lots of garlic (if you like this sort of thing).

I always de-meat the bone, even tho' there won't be much flavor remaining. (On the other hand, I've also been known to add some fresh diced ham in with the late vegetable addition.)

Basically, you can't go wrong!

Enjoy!

Geo

Okay, I've been considering posting my black-eye pea soup recipe anyway, so let me offer it forth.

1. In a nice big pan simmer whatever smoked bone-in meat you have (you have the ham bone, I'm partial to smoked turkey necks myself) with a diced onion or two, a couple of bay leaves, three or four stalks and leaves worth of chopped celery, and some salt in a lot of water. Let it simmer and simmer.

2. Meanwhile, put a pound of black-eyed peas in at least four times their volume of boiling water. Let them sit and sit. You can change the water if you like as it gets cloudy.

3. Drain the black-eyed peas and put them into the other pot. Add some marjoram (a teaspoon or so), some thyme (maybe 1/2-3/4 t), a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, a heaping teaspoon or more of Durkee Six-Pepper Blend and at least half a teaspoon of Jamaica Me Sweat Pepper Sauce. Cook until the black-eyed peas are soft, adding more water if necessary..

4. Remove the smoked meat and set it aside to cool before taking off whatever meat you can find. In the meantime, add to the pot six or eight baby carrots, sliced into rounds, and eight or ten Brussels spouts, trimmed and cut into eighths. Simmer for twenty minutes or so until carrots and Brussels sprouts are cooked. Return any meat you were able to get off your bone, adjust seasonings, and serve.

Nothing fancy here, and it's not like me to be so specific about brands but these are what I've been using and I'm partial to both. Obviously the hot peppers kick the flavor up a notch, but I also love how the bright orange carrots and the light green Brussels sprouts add so much color to what otherwise can be a sort of purple mess.

Enjoy.

http://www.soupsong.com/index.html