New Year Black Bean Soup

New Years Black Bean Soup

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of dried black beans

2 smoked ham hocks

½ cup of chopped onions

1 cup of chopped celery with leaves

½ cup chopped carrots

1 whole clove of garlic

4 Tablespoons of butter

4 Tablespoons of flour

dry sherry


Spices

Bay leaves

salt


DIRECTIONS

Phase I

Wash beans. Soak overnight.


Phase II

Drain beans and save the water. Add enough water to make 10 cups. Combine water, ham hocks, and beans in pot. Cook covered for 3 hours.

Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and bay leaf and simmer for another 45 minutes.

Remove the ham hocks and put the soup through a sieve. Chill the soup and skim the fat from the top.

Phase III

Reheat the soup.

Melt butter in a separate pan and stir in the flour until blended. Slowly add about one cup of the soup to the rhoux, stirring with whisk. Bring to a boil and then stir into the rest of the soup.

Before serving, stir in one tablespoon of sherry for each cup of soup.


NOTES

This soup is a Wear family tradition in North Carolina. I’ve prepared this soup for several years on New Years Day. Serve with rolls, sliced ham, and boiled eggs..

SOURCE

Recipe is based on one from the Joy of Cooking, 1975 edition.