Great Northern Bean Soup - Crock Pot Recipe
By request of my Twitter pal @hjshorter
This is the same simple soup recipe that I have been making for years in various restaraunts except that the directions here are geared towards making it in a Crock Pot. Stovetop is the same recipe, just more attention to the time etc.... Here we go
Ingredients:
1 - 1LB Bag of Great Northern Beans
* Normally I soak these overnight in the crock pot [no heat] covered with plenty of water. In the morning drain the beans, rinse them off, and add more fresh water to about 3/4 full of the crock pot
Turn the Crock-Pot on to 'High' and add the following
4 Lg Ribs of Celery diced
3 Lg Carrots diced
1 small Onion diced
6 cloves Garlic minced
5-6 cranks of cracked black pepper from a mill
1/2 tsp each of Thyme, Oregano, Basil, Rosemary
1 Bay Leaf [ whole]
2 Tbsp of Salt [and adjust Salt later after beans cook]
** 1 Ham Bone - Optional ** I have vegetarian kids so I skip this when they are here for the weekend
Leave the Crock Pot on High and let it come to a boil, this might take a while, an hour possibly. After it comes to a boil, stir well, and turn the crock pot down to Low. The crock-pot will cook the soup slowly over the course of 3-4 hours [is my best guess] perhaps longer. I cook the soup until the Great Northern Beans are almost dissapated and broken apart. You can tell as the beans themselves cook down and release a small part of a bean pod that looks like a tiny pink squiggle, like a pigs tail almost. Thats how I know its almost ready....
Like I said, a very simple soup but very comforting in the winter... Enjoy !!
*I'll pay better attention to the cooking time today and update the post later*
