Rustic Spicy Bean & Ham Soup – Slow Cooker

Cool air is just around the corner and that means soup in the crock pot. I decided to make a bean soup with ham.  I had some leftover jalapenos in the fridge, so I thought I’d heat things up a bit.  In my book, “rustic” just means the vegetable chop is large and “spicy” just means there is as much jalapeno or cayenne pepper as you like.  Throw all the ingredients in the slow cooker and come back in 10 hours and you’ll have some warm comfort in a bowl.

Rustic Spicy Bean & Ham Soup — Slow Cooker Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 bag Barlotti Cranberry Beans (or Pinto beans)
• 1 bag of Northern White Beans
• 1 pound baby yellow potatoes
• 8 – 10 ounces cubed ham (I use prepackaged cubed ham)
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 1 – 32 ounce vegetable stock
• 2 – 32 ounce chicken stock
• 4 Carrots chopped in large pieces
• 4 Celery stalks chopped in large pieces
• 2 White onions chopped in large pieces
• 1 tablespoon Dried Thyme
• 1 Tablespoon of Minced Garlic
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (reserve a bit for garnish)
• 4 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (de-seed for less heat)
• 1 teaspoon dried cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper or to taste
• Coarse Black Pepper to taste
• Salt to taste
• Crumbled crisp bacon pieces (optional)

Directions

1.  Soak beans in water for 1 to 2 days prior to cooking
2. In 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients – except the bacon (which is for garnish at serving)
3. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours
4. Scoop out 2 cups of cooked beans  – drained – add into a glass bowl
5. Use a hand blender to make bean mash
6. Stir mash back into to the soup to thicken
7. Increase heat setting to High; cover and cook about 15 minutes longer
8. Remove Bay Leaves from Soup
9. Serve and top with bacon pieces and fresh parsley

Enjoy!