Great Northern Bean Soup (Zupa Fasolowa)

Ham for Christmas usually means that there is a nice ham hock along with some scraps of leftover ham ready to be made into a delicious soup. I used to use Navy beans for this soup, but I found the Great Northern bean be a nice substitute because of the way the beans hold their shape. I like to serve this soup with a lightly buttered deli rye bread on the side. In Polish, this soup is known as Zupa Fasolowa. I can't say if this is truly a Polish recipe, but it was a common recipe that my mom made when I was growing up in Michigan.

Great Northern Bean Soup (Zupa Fasolowa).

Basic Ham and Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 pound dry Great Northern beans

8 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 ham bone

1 generous cup carrots, coarsely chopped

1 generous cup celery, coarsely chopped

1 generous cup onion, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1 teaspoon marjoram

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

2 generous cups ham, cubed

Salt to taste

Directions

Rinse the beans, sorting out any broken or discolored ones. In a large pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and the beans and remove from heat. Let beans sit in the hot water for at least 60 minutes. Alternatively, soak beans overnight. Rinse before using.

After the 60 minutes of soaking, return the pot to high heat and place the ham bone, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, marjoram, bay leaves, and white pepper in the pot. Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 60 more minutes.

Stir in the chopped ham and simmer for 30 more minutes. Remove ham bone and discard.

Season with salt to taste.

Optional: Serve with lightly buttered deli rye bread on the side.

Pork Roast (Pieczeń Wieprzowa) in the Polish Style

I love a pork roast (pieczeń wieprzowa in Polish) and the one I made last night was one of the best. I call it "In the Polish style" as it is heavy on the garlic. Don't cut back on the garlic, though, because, as the roast bakes the garlic cloves caramelize and become sweet bits of goodness within the roast. 

Pork Roast (Pieczeń Wieprzowa) in the Polish Style--Perfect for Sunday dinner!

Ingredients

1 package Lipton Mushroom Onion Soup mix

1 cup of water

Olive oil spray

1 3-to-4 pound Publix Boneless Boston Butt Roast

1 large onion, halved

3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, halved

1 teaspoon garlic powder

4 medium potatoes, cut into chunks

4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and coarse black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons corn starch dissolved in 1/2 cup water

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix Lipton Mushroom Onion Soup mix with 1 cup water and set aside.

Spray a Dutch oven with olive oil spray or coat with olive oil.

Coarsely chop 1/2 of the onion. Put onion and celery in bottom of Dutch oven. Place roast on top. Make 8 1-inch slits about 1-inch deep in top of roast and place a half clove of garlic in each slit.

Pour soup mix over roast. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and coarse black pepper. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon garlic powder on top of roast.

Cover Dutch oven and place on top of stove and heat just until it just comes to a boil. Remove from heat and place Dutch oven into oven and bake for 90 minutes. Remove from oven.

Combine potatoes, carrots, and 1/2 onion coarsely chopped in a large bowl. Add rosemary, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine. Add to pork roast.

Return pork roast to the oven and bake covered for an additional 60 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Place pork on cutting board and remove strings. Cut pork into 1/2 inch slices. Removed vegetables from Dutch oven and place in serving bowl.

Roast pork, sliced for serving.

Add corn starch slurry to Dutch oven, stir to combine with drippings in the pan and bring to a boil on top of stove. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes or until gravy thickens. Plate pork roast and vegetables.  Top with gravy if desired or serve on the side. Leftovers make great pork barbeque sandwiches!

Sliced pork sandwiches with BBQ sauce and a side of coleslaw. Yum!