German Festival Ham and White Bean Stew

If you picked up your Bountiful Basket last Saturday then you have some kale probably still sitting in your fridge. Hopefully you put it in the right drawer so it's not limping, wilted and making sad faces at you every time you open the door. This is another one of those veggies that people have no idea what to do with. It's a plant people...it's okay..it can't hurt you :)

I made this great stew/soup the other night with it, but I didn't have time to take fancy pictures. Everyone kind of just gobbled it down and it was all gone! (kids soccer practices will seriously kill me). This recipe I've included is straight out of one of my favorite cookbooks, picture and all.

The book is called Real Cajun by Donald Link. This man is a genius and if I could have anyone cook for me...it would be him!

I know..soup in the summer...

You can do it! Use that Kale!

It's definitely not a hard recipe at all, the only warning I have for you is that you need to let the beans soak overnight. Other than that....it's pretty much fool proof.

German Festival Ham and White Bean Stew

Serves 10 to 12

After I sampled this rich, hearty combination at the Robert's Cove Germanfest (where it was ladled into Styrofoam bowls), it became a family favorite. There, the beans were creamy, super-thick (more like a side dish than something you'd serve in a soup bowl), and laced with an incredible smoked ham flavor. Whole-grain mustard and collards give the classic ham-and-bean combination more flavor (and a distinctive German-Southern twist). I've made this version more stewlike because I love the smoky broth that it creates.

For a creamier texture, puree a portion of the finished stew. If you don't have a blender, you can smash some of the beans the old-fashioned way by pressing them against the side of the pot with your cooking spoon. Some beans are good to leave whole and some, like black-eyed peas, are better mashed up a little. White beans are somewhere in the middle.

This recipe makes a large pot of stew, so you can invite people over or have delicious leftovers.

As with all stews, it will taste even better the next day.

• 3 cups dried white beans (any variety)
• 2 tablespoons butter or bacon fat
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 celery stalks, diced
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced
• 5 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons salt, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 pounds best-quality smoked ham or tasso (see Resources,
  page 250 of the book), cut in 1/2-inch dice
• 2 tablespoons Creole or whole-grain mustard
• A 4-inch fresh rosemary sprig, minced
• 9 cups chicken broth
• 1 small bunch collard greens or kale, large stems cut out,
  leaves cut into 2-inch squares

Place the beans in a large pot with enough water to cover them by 4 inches. Soak the beans overnight.

Heat the butter or bacon fat in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.

Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, jalapeno, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes.

Add the ham, mustard, and rosemary, cook for 3 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Drain and rinse the beans and add them to the pot along with the chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook the stew at a simmer for 1 hour.

Add the greens and cook for 30 minutes more. Turn off heat and let sit for 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.

At this point you can serve the soup as is, or, to make a creamier soup with a thicker body, puree 2 cups of the stew in a blender and return to the pot. (You can also place an immersion blender in the pot and pulse for a few seconds to accomplish the same thing.) Taste for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper as desired, Serve this stew with plenty of good, crusty bread or cornbread, torn and thrown right into the bowl, or over hot steamed rice.