Overnight Portuguese Bean Soup

A great way to use up that Easter ham bone to make a satisfying meal.

Normally we send our ham bone home with someone, along with leftovers from Easter dinner. This year, since we didn’t have anyone over (for obvious reasons), I was either going to toss it or find a way to use it. Since making a broth for soup was the most practical way (in terms of ease and available time) of extracting all of the ham flavor, I took out the slow cooker and proceeded to let it do all of the work overnight.

In the morning, all I needed to do was strain the broth and add in all the other ingredients (most of which you probably already have in your pantry) to make a hearty, comforting Portuguese Bean Soup. The only problem is that it makes way too much for the two of us. I guess the good thing is that I’ll have it the freezer for those “what should I cook” kind of nights.

Overnight (Slow Cooker) Portuguese Bean Soup

Yield: Serves 6-8 as a main course

Total time: 16 hours | Prep: 30 min. + overnight soaking | Cook: 15 hours 30  min.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ham bone (substitute smoked turkey wings or ham hocks)

• 4 qts. water

• 1½ cups dried kidney beans, covered with water and soaked overnight

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 2 medium carrots, cut into 1” pieces

• 2 stalks celery, cut into 1” pieces

• 5 garlic cloves, smashed

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes

• 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” pieces

• 2 cups ham, cut into ¾” pieces

• 1 Portuguese sausage (aka linguisa), sliced into ¼” coins

• 2 tbsp. kosher salt 

• 1 tbsp. black pepper, freshly ground

Not pretty, but it makes for a great broth.

METHOD:

The night before, place the ham bone in a 6-qt. slow cooker and cover with the water. Set the temperature to low and allow to cook overnight, about 8 hours.

In the morning, remove the ham bone and pick off any meat that may have been on it. Discard the bone, reserving any meat. 

Drain the soaked beans and add them to the ham broth, along with the onion, carrots, celery, garlic and bay leaves. Cook on the high setting for 4 hours.

Add in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste and potatoes, and cook for an additional two hours. 

Remove the bay leaves and add in the Portuguese sausage and diced ham. Continue to cook for an additional hour. Season with the salt and pepper.

Makes for a lot of soup (i.e., you won’t have to cook for a while).