WINE & FOOD AFFAIR RECIPES

Soups

White Bean and Ham Hock Soup

Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens

5007 Fulton Road
Fulton, CA 95439
kj.com

Can soup be a meal? We say yes, but it’s got to have lots of good stuff in it. This one delivers, with white beans, butternut squash, escarole and tender ham hock meat in a rich broth. There’s a simple principle here that you can use for making soups of all kinds. Instead of throwing everything into a pot and simmering it until it’s soup, you start by making a flavorful stock.

Ham Hock Broth

Ingredients:
  • 3 pounds smoked ham hocks
  • 5 quarts water, plus more as needed
Directions:
To prepare the ham hock broth, in a large pot over medium heat, combine the ham hocks and 5 quarts water and bring to a good simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, uncovered, until the meat is tender and pulling away from the bones, 2 to 3 hours. Add more water as needed to keep the ham hocks submerged.

Remove the pot from the heat and let the hocks and broth cool to room temperature. Transfer the hocks to a plate, then strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside. Pull the meat off the bones, shred into bite-size pieces, measure 2 cups for the soup and set aside. Refrigerate the remaining meat for another use. Discard the bones.

Soup

Ingredients:
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups diced yellow onions
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1/4 cup sliced garlic
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup cannellini beans, rinsed
  • 1 chunk Parmesan cheese rind
  • 2 cups diced butternut squash (small dice)
  • 1 large head escarole, trimmed and roughly chopped
  • 1 loaf country-style bread, sliced and toasted
  • 1 round (10 ounces) Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam cheese
Directions:
To prepare the soup, in an 8-quart pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the rosemary, bay leaf, cannellini beans, Parmesan rind and 4 quarts of the ham hock broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.

To finish the soup, add the squash, escarole and the 2 cups meat to the pot with the beans and return to a simmer. Cook until the squash is tender and the meat is heated through, about 15 minutes. Remove and discard the rosemary sprigs, bay leaf and Parmesan rind. 

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Serve the toasted bread and cheese on the side.