When I finally got around to pulling the ham bone out of the freezer, I had every intention of soaking some cranberry beans overnight and making a completely different soup. However, a busy work week and familial obligations (and general forgetfulness) got in the way of my remembering to put the beans on to soak when I got home. I was rooting in the refrigerator a few days after I'd taken it out of the freezer and realized that if I didn't do something with this ham bone soon, it'd go to waste. And I couldn't stand that. So, I said (probably out loud... if you know me, you know this isn't abnormal), "Screw the cranberry beans! I'm using lentils!!" And so this recipe was born.
I was kind of amazed. I didn't even have to go to the store and the soup really only took about an hour and half to come together. Most of that time it was sitting on the stove bubbling away.
This soup was delicious ladled over a generous wedge of Southern cornbread.
I would like to note three things. #1 If you don't feel like baking an entire ham, you can pick up ham bones from Honey Baked Ham for about $5.00. They usually have a generous amount of meat left on them too. If you don't have one near you, consider asking your local butcher or the meat counter at your local grocer. #2 My ham bone was cooked before I made this soup. Yours should be too. #3 I made this soup with what I had in my kitchen at the time I decided to make it. You can do that too. If you don't have half of a green bell pepper and half of a red bell pepper (mine were left over from another recipe and [blessedly] already chopped), consider using what you have on hand. If you've only got one yellow bell pepper, use that instead. If you've not got any bell peppers but you've got a few stalks of celery or some extra onions, use those instead. It would change the taste of the soup but what's the fun of sticking to a recipe exactly anyway?
Lentil Ham Bone Soup
1 ham bone with any leftover meat still attached
1 lb. lentils (I used green ones. You don't have to but remember that some cook faster than others.)
1 - 2 bay leaves
1 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes, with juice
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 big handful matchstick carrots (or 1 medium carrot, chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
*In a large pot, cover ham bone with water. Put pot and its contents over medium heat. While it's heating, rinse and sort the lentils (not to sound lentil-ist but you should pick out the ones that don't look like the other ones). Add lentils to the pot with the bay leaves. Pepper to taste. (A few turns of my pepper grinder for me.) Add chopped veggies to the pot with the can of tomatoes. Cook over medium heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours total. It'll bubble. Add water if it gets to looking too dry. After you've been at it for about an hour, taste the lentils and veggies every so often to see if they're done. You'll want the lentils to not be crunchy anymore but to still have a little bite. Once the lentils and veggies are cooked to your liking, add salt if desired. I just add a bit and then let people add salt to their taste. Serve warm. I served mine over cornbread but you could serve it over rice. I'm sure it'd also be great by itself.
1 ham bone with any leftover meat still attached
1 lb. lentils (I used green ones. You don't have to but remember that some cook faster than others.)
1 - 2 bay leaves
1 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes, with juice
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 big handful matchstick carrots (or 1 medium carrot, chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
*In a large pot, cover ham bone with water. Put pot and its contents over medium heat. While it's heating, rinse and sort the lentils (not to sound lentil-ist but you should pick out the ones that don't look like the other ones). Add lentils to the pot with the bay leaves. Pepper to taste. (A few turns of my pepper grinder for me.) Add chopped veggies to the pot with the can of tomatoes. Cook over medium heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours total. It'll bubble. Add water if it gets to looking too dry. After you've been at it for about an hour, taste the lentils and veggies every so often to see if they're done. You'll want the lentils to not be crunchy anymore but to still have a little bite. Once the lentils and veggies are cooked to your liking, add salt if desired. I just add a bit and then let people add salt to their taste. Serve warm. I served mine over cornbread but you could serve it over rice. I'm sure it'd also be great by itself.
