Recipe - Bills Navy Bean Soup

1 cup Navy beans
2 Celery stalks
2 Carrots
One half Onion
2 Ham hocks
: salt
1/8 teaspoon Black pepper
3 tablespoon Margarine
3 tablespoon Allpurpose flour

1. Pick over the dried beans and discard any debris. Wash and drain. Put
beans in a large pot and cover with water. Let stand 8 hours or overnight.
2. The next day, chop celery, carrots and onions into 1/4inch pieces.
(This is easier with a food processor.) Drain beans. Add vegetables, 5 cups
water, ham hocks or ham bone, and pepper to taste. Add salt if you wish.
Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat for 3 hours or until beans are
tender. 3. Remove ham hocks and set aside to cool. Remove meat from bones
and cut meat into halfinch pieces. 4. Put 2 cups of the soup into a
blender along with the margarine and flour; puree. Pour this puree back in
pan. Puree more of the soup if you prefer a smoother texture. Add the
chopped ham pieces back into the soup. Simmer for 1520 minutes until soup
is slightly thickened. Yield: 68 large servings. This soup is especially
good when sprinkled with a few drops of hot pepper sauce just before
serving. Recipe By
: Jo Anne Merrill

Posted to MMRecipes Digest by "John Weber" hdbrer@ibm.net on Nov 07, 98