Receta Ham and Black Bean Soup

by Christine Lamb

Our word soup comes from French soup, which

derived from Vulgar Latin suppa, from the post classical Latin verb

suppare, to soak. This indicated bread soaked in broth, or a liquid poured onto

a piece of bread.

In

Germanic languages, the word sop referred to a piece of bread used to soak up

soup or a thick stew. The word entered the English language in the seventeenth

century exactly as that, soup pored over “sops” of bread or toast, which

evolved into croutons. Prior to then, soups

were called broth or pottage. The bread or toast served as an alternative to

using a spoon.

While the rich enjoyed elaborate soups, basic soup was a

poor man’s dinner. Until recent times, the evening meal was the lighter of the

two meals of the day, a soup or sop would be a typical evening dish. The name

of the meal evolved to souper, than supper.

It began to be fashionable to serve the liquid broth without

the sop (bread), and in the early eighteenth century, soup became a first

course.

Give them a bowl of soup! Soup will soothe your soul and

fill your tummy.

Ham and Black Bean Soup

• Recipe by Christine Lamb (Christine’s Pantry), 2015
• Ingredients:
• 1 leftover ham bone
• 1 white or yellow onion, chopped
• 1 (15 oz. can) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz. can) corn, drained
• 1 large potato, peeled and diced
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

Directions:

In a dutch oven, combine all ingredients. Cover and simmer

for 1 hour, until potatoes are tender. Remove ham bone and bay leaves and

discard. Serve and enjoy!