Name: 15-Bean Soup with Smoked Pork and Greens
Prep time: 8 h
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 10 h
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 20 oz. mixed dried beans & lentils (such as Hurst’s or just add odds and ends that you have); 2-3 quarts water; 1 lb. smoked pork necks (or hocks); few sprigs fresh thyme; 2 bay leaves; pinch crushed red pepper flakes; 1 large onion, chopped; 3 celery stalks, chopped; 5 cloves garlic, minced; 1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes; 1 heaping Tbs. smoked paprika; couple handfuls mixed greens (such as kale & swiss chard), chopped large; sea salt; freshly ground black pepper; 2 Tbs white wine vinegar

Description

I love the way that a mish-mash of beans and legumes combine with nutrient-dense winter greens and smoky-porky bits to tempt you into the kitchen.

Ingredients

Units Scale

20 oz. mixed dried beans & lentils (such as Hurst’s or just add odds and ends that you have)
2–3 quarts water
1 lb. smoked pork necks (or hocks)
few sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 heaping Tbs. smoked paprika
couple handfuls mixed greens (such as kale & swiss chard), chopped large
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs white wine vinegar

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Instructions

Place bean mixture into a large bowl and cover with water by a couple of inches. Soak 8 hours or overnight. Alternately, put them in a pot and cover with water by a couple of inches. Bring to a rapid boil for ~3 minutes. Cover, turn off heat and let sit for one hour. Drain water and rinse.
Place soaked bean mixture in a large pot or Dutch oven with 2 quarts of the water, the pork hocks, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil, cover partially. Reduce to a simmer and let cook until beans are just tender, ~1-1½ hours. If using lentils, they will mostly disintegrate and thicken into the liquid. If soup seems too thick, add some more of the water.
Add onion, celery, garlic, tomatoes with their juices, and paprika to the pot. Stir in, then continue to simmer very gently for another 15 minutes. Stir in greens and continue cooking another 5-10 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Fish out the hocks with a long pair of tongs or a skimmer. Go ahead and remove the thyme stalks and bay leaves while you’re at it and discard them. Set aside the hocks for a few minutes, until cool enough to handle. Pick the meat from the bones and add the meat back to the pot.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the vinegar. Serve!

Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 2 hours
Category: Soup
Method: Simmering
Cuisine: Italian