Great Northern Bean and Ham Soup — Cooking School

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried Great Northern beans
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 quart chicken stock, or more as needed
• 2 cups cooked, cubed ham
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Place Great Northern beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Drain and set aside.

Melt butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Stir garlic into vegetables; cook and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir chicken stock, beans, ham, and bay leaf into vegetable mixture; bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover the pot with a lid, leaving lid slightly ajar. Simmer soup, adding more stock as needed, until beans are tender and soup is thick, about 2 1/2 hours. Discard bay leaf and season soup with salt and pepper.