Here's the one I use: Navy Bean Soup From Food Network Kitchens 1 lb navy beans, picked over, rinsed and drained 10 sprigs parsley 2 sprigs fresh thyme 1 bay leaf 2 large smoked ham hocks, about 1-1/2 lb 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped 8 c cold water 1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper Butter for garnish Place beans in a large saucepan and cover with cold water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, remove from heat, cover and let sit for one hour. Drain and reserve. Tie parsley, thyme and bay leaf together with kitchen twine. In large soup pot or dutch oven, combine the beans, herb bundle, hocks, onions and garlic with the water. Bring to a boil, cover and adjust the heat so that the soup cooks at a gentle simmer. Cook until the beans and hocks are completely tender, about 1-1/2 hours. Turn off heat and remove hocks. Cool slightly. Remove meat from hocks, discarding the bones, fat and skin. Cut meat into small cubes. Remove herb bundle from soup and discard. Puree about 3 cups of the beans with some of the liquid in a blender. (For a smooth soup, you may puree all the beans). Stir the puree and diced meat into the soup. Heat the soup and adjust seasoning as needed with salt & pepper. Ladle into heated bowls, place a small pat of butter on top of each bowl of soup, serve. Linda

I always process the ham bone first because there is enough flavor in that bone to make more than one pot. Just fill a big covered pot with water and simmer till the meat is falling off. Hours.... Then you have a whole pot of broth. Remove the bone/meat, cool ...even over night to remove the fat...I take the bone and remove all the meat...and take it apart where all I have left is the good meat..no fat...no gristle etc....Then I use it to make soup. Sometimes I will have enough for two or three pots of soup. I use one and freeze or can the others. Bean, potato is my favorite or peas...but use you imagination...even noodles and whatever suits your fancy.

Here are some of our favourite thick soups: CREAM OF CHICKPEAS - Crema de Garbanzos 3/4 lb chickpeas (300 grams) 5 cloves garlic - peeled 1 medium onion - peeled and chopped 1 bay leaf fresh ground black pepper tarragon - to taste salt 1) Put chickpeas in a pot, cover with cold water and let soak about 12 hours. 2) Once that time has elapsed, drain chickpeas and cover with fresh cold water again, adding the onion, garlic cloves, bay leaf and salt. 3) Cook for about 2 hours or until the chickpeas are tender. 4) Drain chickpeas, keeping some of the cooking liquid and put into blender together with tarragon and a little pepper. 5) Blend, adding some of the cooking liquid until you have the desired consistency. 6) Pass through a sieve, gently reheat and put into a soup tureen, garnishing with chopped parsley. Serve hot. Source: Translated from Cocina Hoy S.L. --------------------------------------------------------- Here's one of my favourite Spanish dishes: - Although I have been making it for years the way a Spanish cook once showed me, I have also tried the preparation seen recently on a Spanish Cooking TV channel. Their ingredients included a small pice of or pork fat and a stewing chorizo (chorizo para guisar). If choosing a chorizo for this dish, be sure it is the right type which has the red pimiento colour. of the ingredients. The small piece of tocino can be seen just to the right of the sprig of rosemary. 350 grams (1 1/2 cups) of small dark lentils - put them to soak the night before in water to cover 100 grams (3.5 oz) red stewing chorizo sausage - lightly pricked over with tines of a fork 50 grams (1.7 oz) salted tocino pork fat - cut into large diced pieces 1 TBSP flour 2 carrots diced fine 2 medium leeks, using only white stems sliced finely in rounds 1 lg clove garlic (this was optional but I wouldn't leave it out) - pass through garlic press 2 cups beef broth (I used 2 Knorr cubes) 1 bay leaf fresh rosemary - small sprig olive oil - about 1/4 cup 2 cups extra water to add after 1st hour 1. Soak lentils the NIGHT BEFORE in water to cover. 2. Next day drain and rinse lentils, put aside. 3. Heat olive oil in heavy cooking pot. When sizzling, add carrots, garlic and leeks. Lightly brown while stirring. 4. Add 1 TBSP flour and keep stirring for about a minute. 5. Add lentils, beef broth, whole chorizo, tocino, laurel and rosemary 6. Put on lid and simmer very gently for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Check after 1st hour and add up to 2 more cups water as needed. 7. Adjust seasoning and serve. ----------------------------------------- Ingredients: lentils - 250 grams (slightly over 1 cup) garlic - one whole head onion - 1 large - quartered Kasseler smoked pork chop - 1 large (or 250 grams other smoked pork or bacon) ham or pork bone as for making stock 4 medium carrots - sliced into coins 2 stalks celery - diced 5 medium potatoes - peeled and cut into 8ths 6 flowerettes of cauliflower green beans - handful sliced tomato puré - small 4 oz tin olive oil - 4 TBS fresh garden herbs: 1 bay leaf, several sprigs thyme, Italian flatleaf parsley 2 or 3 sprigs chicken stock 1 liter (4 cups) or water and 3 Knorr chicken stock cubes salt & fesh ground pepper water to cook lentils vinegar - 1 teasp garlic croutons - optional garnish Method: 1) Turn on oven to 350F. Put lentils in large heavy bottomed stew pot with water to cover plus about 2 inches, bring to boil and simmer 45 minutes. Check water level and add more as needed. 2) Meanwhile put whole head of garlic into shallow baking pan together with quartered onion, Kasseler or smoked pork and ham or pork bone, drizzle with olive oil and roast in oven at medium heat about 45 minutes. 3) Remove baking tray from oven when all is nicely browned and cut meat into small dice and add to lentil pot along with onion. Squeeze garlic from skin into lentil pot, adding ham/pork bone along with oil and juices scraped from roasting pan. 4) Add rest of vegetables to lentils, chicken stock (or water and stock cubes), tomato puré, fresh herbs and bay leaf, parsley - reserving one sprig, fresh ground pepper. Bring to boil and simmer about 1 hour until vegetables are done, adding more water if needed. 5) When vegetables are tender, remove ham/pork bones and any bare thyme stems from pot, check for flavour and add salt as needed. Add vinegar and stir. 6) Serve with a bit of chopped parsley and more fresh ground pepper. Homemade garlic croutons are also nice as a garnish. Source: Recipe as I learned from a Mallorquin housewife years ago. ------------------------------------------ The next day I made the rest - about 4 cups - of our previous day's stewed lentils into ... I started out using my hand cranked food mill and when I realized it wasn't going to do the job I put it all into my food processor, adding the following: 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth (using Knorr cube and water) 2 lg cloves of garlic crushed and browned in 1/4 cup oil in small frypan 2 slices brown bread broken in small pieces and fried in the garlicky oil until brown Processed the above until smooth and then heated it gently. Diced some more pieces of brown bread and toasted them in the frying pan with oil and garlic salt for the croutons. Closeup Lentil Puré. It was super tasty and Wolf really enjoyed it as well ! We were both full after two bowls each. ----------------------------------- Garlic Soup (Sopa de Ajo) ************************ A garlic soup recipe from the Mediterranean Island of Mallorca. Ingredients: 9 oz (250 grams approx) *shaved dry brown bread 6 garlic cloves 6 fine stalks spring onions 1 small cabbage 2 medium size ripe tomatoes fresh Italian parsley 1/2 cup good quality olive oil 1 teaspoon red sweet pimento powder salt water * Note: this refers to a type of local bread often used in soups (sopas) as a way of using up stale bread. It's a round, flat and heavy tan-coloured dense country bread loaf which is sliced crosswise paper thin, the cut pieces having a half-moon shape and being as thin as a slice of salami. (An electric meat slicer does the job well if you can find a heavy loaf of brown country bread.) Method: Heat the oil in an open, shallow casserole dish and add the peeled garlic cloves; remove them when browned and set aside. Add the finely chopped spring onions to the oil and when lightly golden add the finely chopped cabbage. Stir fry together then add the pimiento powder and enough water to cover all. Mash the browned garlic cloves in a mortar and pestle, add a little water to dilute the paste then add to the casserole. Season with salt and cook until tender at a low heat on the stove top. Then add the bread slices, scooping up the cabbage mixture and piling it on top of the bread to sink it down. Let return to a boil and remove from the stove. This soup is usually brought to the table and served out of the same casserole. I don't have a photo of the finished product but I do have my Mallorquin clay casserole which is what is normally used. Called a I brought mine from Mallorca over 20 years ago and whatever comes out of it tastes wonderful. It works equally well in the oven or on an open gas flame. SharonCb

I order from Purcell Mountain Farms a couple times a year, and I'll have to check out calypso beans the next time. Rancho Gordo is another great source for some amazing beans, and recipes using them, if you haven't checked out their stock. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Rancho Gordo