White Bean Soup with Ham
This is a traditional white bean soup made rich and smokey from the ham. Light queso fresco crumbling cheese, available at Mexican markets and some supermakets was a perfect contrast to the warm soup....
This soup is super versatile. If you don't have parsnips, use sweet potatoes. Turnips also work. We used a red onion because that's what was in our fridge, but you can use any kind. You can cook the peas with a ham bone and add chopped ham in place of the chorizo, but we liked the spicy hit that the chorizo gave. OR you can make this soup vegetarian and add a spash of barbecue sauce which gives it a depth similar to ham.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 parsnips chopped
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 pound dry split peas
- 6 ounces chorizo (we used Tn Grass Fed chorizo)
- salt and pepper
Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch Oven. Add pasrnips, onion, carrot and sweet potato. Saute 10 minutes or until browned. Add dried peas and 8 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Partially pulse with an immersion blender until smooth yet still chunky. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Saute chorizo, breaking into small pieces, until browned. Add chorizo and drippings to soup, reserving some chorizo to pile in center of each bowl. Serves 10.
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