Bean & Ham Soup with Herbed Dumplings

Print Friendly

J's mom used to make him this bean soup all the time when he was younger. It's one of his favorite meals.

I don't have her exact recipe, but I did some Internet searching and came up with this. There are a lot of similar recipes out there. I just got the general idea and then threw it all together. :)

He really liked it. It's definitely a very heavy dish, but it's also very easy. It's a good cold winter night type of meal.

Ingredients:
1 small bag Great Northern Beans
About 3 lbs ham, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Other seasonings to taste - I believe I used some fresh parsley, and some minced garlic

Dumplings:
1 c flour
2 t baking powder
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1 T butter
1/2 c milk
Herbs of choice - I used Herbs de Provence

Directions:
Soak beans according to package instructions. There is a quick soak method (takes a little over an hour), or an overnight method.

Drain beans, then add them to a large stockpot with your ham, celery, onion, salt and pepper and other seasonings.
Pour in about 12 cups of water and set over medium high heat.
Bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium low and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.

In the meantime, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and seasonings in a medium sized bowl for the dumplings.

Cut in the butter and then stir in the milk.

When the soup is about ready, drop in the dumplings, about a tablespoon at a time. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes. Do not remove the lid as these cook.
When the dumplings are ready, the soup is ready to serve.

The dumplings will really thicken up the soup when you drop them in, so if you like it more brothy, add in more water at the beginning.