Ham Soup aka:Pantry Stew

A ham for new years is a Southern tradition.  But what do you do with the left overs and in particular the yummy ham bone?   My mind goes straight to stew.

What kind of stew.  Well in the spirit of the day,  lets clean out the pantry. My wife calls this pantry stew.

This year it came out super duper.  Seconds and thirds were demanded all around at lunch so I figured I would share how I did it.

ham bone not picked over
extra ham
1 box Chicken stock
2 tbsp. Dried Onion flakes
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. Chicken soup base (bouillon)
Medium can of white kidney beans (cannelloni) - drained
can of whole corn - drained
can of diced tomatoes
can of diced new potatoes - drained
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup farro (grain)
1/2 box of spaghetti noodles.
catchup


First a little bit of prep work.   Clean the fat off of the ham bone and any rind that may be on it.  Leave the meat, it will fall off in the soup.  Do the same thing with the extra ham. We are looking for the ham flavor and not the seasoning from the curing process.   We also don't want the fat in the stew. We want stew not gelatin.  Cube the extra ham and put it aside.

Next rinse the extra fat off of the ham bone.  How, put it in the stock pot and rinse with warm water a couple of times.  Pour off the water.  Do this a couple of times until the water does not have sheen.  It does not have to be perfect.  This will get rid of the extra fat we don't want and get rid of some of the strong flavor from the salting and smoking process when the ham was cured.

Now we start.   So in a large (and I mean large) stock pot put the ham bone and the Chicken stock.  Add water to cover the ham bone.   To this add some soup base, a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce, the dried onion and some black pepper.  Use your best judgement and don't over do it.  The measurements are approximate.

Bring this to a boil.    Once at a boil add the beans, corn, tomato, garlic and potatoes.  Lower the heat to a slow boil.  Add the cubed ham.   Let this cook for 1-2 hours or so or until the meat starts to fall off the ham bone.   You can't really overcook it.  Watch this stirring every so often.  Add water as necessary to keep the ham bone submerged.

This is where you can taste the broth.  Add 2 or so tablespoons of catchup (to taste).  The vinegar in the catchup brightens the flavor and gets transforms the saltiness of the broth.  Add other spices and more pepper if desired.

At this point we add the farro and rice.  Break the spaghetti noodles in 1/4s and add them as well.  Cook for another 30 min or until all of the starches are done.    You can keep cooking at a slow boil or serve.  Add water to make this a soup or a stew.

Now in saying all of this substitute all the ingredients you like.   The ham, the ham bone and the catchup is the foundation.  Beans of whatever type and quantity you've got can be used.  Want it spicier, add some peppers.    If I did not have farro, I would have used more rice or some other grain.   If you have it, add some okra or carrots or anything else.  It basically takes 30 min after breakfast to get everything started and then you let it cook for a couple of hours and it is ready for Lunch.

Serve with some good rolls or crackers from the bottom shelf of the pantry.  

Pantry stew,   yummm.