HAM AND BEANS

Use a meaty hambone here or two cups of diced ham to make Ham and Beans. If you only have a cup of meat, however, you'll still have a tasty, filling dinner.

10-12 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds white navy or northern beans-washed and picked over. Soak overnight in water to cover plus two inches or boil for 2 minutes and rest, covered, for an hour.
Hambone with some ham OR 2 cups diced ham to be added later
3 quarts of water – or more as needed as beans cook
2 teaspoons kosher salt-plus more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper-plus more to taste
3 bay leaves
2 large yellow onions, diced
1 each: celery stalk and large carrot, cut into small dice
3 whole cloves of garlic-peeled
Handful minced fresh parsley
Hot sauce – optional and to taste
Red wine vinegar – optional for garnish when serving

Instructions

Drain beans in sink. Return to 10-12-quart pot; add 3 quarts water (You will probably need to add more as the beans cook), salt, pepper, bay leaves, onions, celery, carrot and garlic. You can add a meaty hambone here or later add 2 cups of diced ham. Cover, set over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook an hour, stirring regularly and skimming away scum that comes to the top.
Remove hambone, cool briefly, trim off bits of ham, return them to the beans, and discard hambone. (Or add 2 cups diced ham.) Stir in the handful of minced fresh parsley, and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer once more, and let cook, stirring regularly, until beans are tender and creamy—perhaps another hour. Add more water as needed to keep the beans in a barely brothy bath as they simmer. Taste broth and beans; season as needed. Add a few shakes of Tabasco to taste, if using.
Serve hot seasoned with a drizzle of red wine vinegar if you like. Fresh cornbread and butter is a tasty accompaniment.
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days including the day the ham is baked or frozen in tightly covered containers 4-6 months.

Notes

This isn’t bean soup, so you don’t need copious amounts of water for broth, but rather you should add just enough water to keep the beans cooking and to get them done. I ended adding another quart of water to the first 3, but I cook at altitude where things take longer and tend to dry out. Don’t boil the bejeesus out of these beans or they’ll crack apart and lose their skins. Keep them at a gentle boil or good simmer and they’ll get done slowly, holding their shape. I don’t agree with cooking beans unsalted; I like them in more of a light sea bath with plenty of black pepper and a nice dose of Tabasco for sheer fun.