White Bean Soup – The Best Way to Use a Ham Bone – Pressure Cooker Recipe
Written by Rocky Mountain Woman on January 23, 2015 – 7:56 am -
There is nothing like a bowl of hot soup after a long cold day. Make this on the weekend and you’ll have a few nights of deliciousness waiting for you when you get home. It’s hands down the best way to use a ham bone that I can think of!
- 1 ham bone with meat
- 1 lb white beans - I used Great Northern
- 7 cups of water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 T olive oil
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 3 small yellow onions or 2 larger ones, chopped
- 1 t salt
- few grinds of pepper from the mill
- 1 sprig fresh tarragon, chopped
- ¼ c heavy cream
- Rinse the beans and sort, taking out any misshapen beans
- Place beans, water, bay leaf and ham bone in pressure cooker
- Cook on high for 25 minutes, let pressure come down naturally
- Saute carrots, onions and celery in olive oil in dutch oven until soft
- remove ham bone from beans and pick off any meat
- remove and discard bay leaf
- add ham to dutch oven with the liquid and beans from the pressure cooker
- let simmer about 30 minutes on low heat
- add the tarragon
- add the heavy cream
- adjust salt and pepper to taste
For extra goodness, brush slices of baguette with olive oil and toast in a 400 degree oven until brown – about 15 minutes
Float a piece or two on top of the soup
I had mine with a lovely glass of Sangiovese and it really hit the spot!
Tags: pressure cooker, soup
Posted in She Cooks | 5 Comments »
Jewish Delicatessens (or the lack thereof) – Matzo Ball Soup
Written by Rocky Mountain Woman on January 21, 2015 – 1:01 pm -
I lived for many years in South Florida where there’s a Jewish Deli in almost every strip shopping center. While I love Utah, and Park City has an especially vibrant and exciting food culture, sometimes I really miss a bowl of matzo ball soup or a bagel with a smear. I was recently in South Florida with my son and grandson for a few days and there was a lovely Jewish deli right by our hotel. My son complained a bit about the 20 minute wait, but I was determined we would have breakfast there. When we were finally seated, I couldn’t decide on what I wanted so just ordered several of my favorites.
The waitress looked at me with raised eyebrows. “Is that all?” she said and then looked at my son. When he ordered for him and his little boy, it dawned on her that I was planning on eating the following: bagel and lox, egg salad on the side with matzo ball soup as a starter and assorted pickles. I ate every single bite (well, my son had a little bit of the salmon).
I miss Jewish Delis so much. I alternated between Deli food, Falafal sandwiches from the Mediterranean restaurant around the corner, and Cuban Sandwiches for lunch when I lived in Florida. It was heaven. When I go back to visit family I have a list of restaurants I have to hit or I get cranky. Jewish Delis are on the top of that list.
In an effort to bloom where I’ve been replanted, I’ve decided to try and recreate some of the Jewish food I adore from South Florida. I don’t have a Jewish grandmother to teach me, nor do I have a drop of Jewish blood to help guide me, just a respect and love for what comes out of Jewish kitchens.
I’m starting with one of my all-time favorites, Matzo ball soup. I apologize profusely to REAL Jewish cooks everywhere for any discrepancies in ingredients or techniques, but you have to understand that my obsessive compulsive food nature just won’t let me miss Jewish food anymore!
- 3 quarts of chicken stock (homemade if you have it)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ cup chopped carrot
- 2 T vegetable oil
- ½ cup matzo meal
- 1 t salt (Kosher, of course) - if you're not using homemade stock, cut back a bit on the salt
- few grinds of black pepper
- 1 sprig chopped parsley
- Mix all ingredients except the chicken stock together in a large bowl
- Add enough chicken stock to make the dough easy to handle (a tablespoon or two)
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes
- While the dough is in the refrigerator, heat a large stock pan full of water until the water is simmering
- Also, heat the stock in a large pan, add the carrots and let it cook until the carrots are soft - about 20 to 30 minutes
- After carrots are soft, add parsley then let simmer on low until the matzo balls are ready
- Form dough into small balls
- Drop into boiling water and let cook until done through - 30 to 45 minutes
- Put a matzo ball or two into a large bowl and spoon on broth. Add a little more chopped parsley right before you serve it.
This post is in honor of the letter “J” and part of Jenny Matlock’s Alphabet Thursday. For more J” posts, please click here jennymatlock.blogspot.com/
Tags: jewish food, soup
Posted in She Cooks | 16 Comments »
Bread – My New Year’s Resolution
Written by Rocky Mountain Woman on January 16, 2015 – 7:01 am -
One of my first memories is of my grandmother baking bread. She would take it from the oven, let it cool a few minutes and then slice it thickly, slathering on sour cream and sprinkling it with white sugar. It was white on white on white and it was wonderful! She would make that for me every time she baked bread. My mouth would start watering the minute she took her yellow striped bread mixing bowl down from the cupboard.
My mother made lovely bread also and if I begged hard enough, she’d make me a sour cream and sugar sandwich with warm bread. Typically though, her topping of choice was sweet butter and jelly.
My own quest is for a crusty loaf that I can dip in olive oil. At a restaurant a while back, I was served warm crusty bread with a dip of olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. I am determined to recreate it in my kitchen. I have the necessary DNA to make great bread (see above), I just don’t have the experience.
New year’s resolution: Great crusty homemade bread dipped in the perfect olive oil mix. Stay tuned!
Posted in She Cooks | 8 Comments »
