Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

2 1/2 c Black beans 2 ts Thyme leaves or
-soaked and drained 1/2 ts Dried thyme
10 c Water 2 ts Minced sage or
2 c Chicken or beef stock, 1 ts Dried sage
-unsalted 1/4 ts Cayenne
1 Smoked ham hock (1/2 lb) or -or to taste
1/4 lb Raw, cured ham * 1/4 c Madeira wine
-cut in 1/2" dice 1 tb Tomato paste
1 oz Salt pork, tough rind 2 tb Red wine vinegar
-trimmed and discarded 2 tb Light molasses
-cut in 1/2" dice Salt to taste 9opt)
3 lg Onion(s), coarsely chopped 2 Hard-boiled eggs
3 Stalks celery -(whites only)
-coarsely chopped -finely chopped
2 md Carrots, coarsely chopped Lime slices
1 tb Whole mixed pickling spices 2 tb Parsley, minced
-tied in cheesecloth

In a 7-qt. Dutch oven or a stockpot, bring the beans, water and stock
to a boil. Skim off foam. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
Add the ham hocks, bring to a boil again, lower heat and simmer 10
minutes more.

Meanwhile, slowly heat the salt pork in a large skillet so that the
fat is rendered. Raise the heat to medium high, add the onions and
saut for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the celery and carrots and
continue to cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes more. Add the
vegetables and the spice bag, stir in the thyme and sage and cook for
another hour.

Remove and discard the spice bag and the ham hock, if used. Pure the
soup in batches in a food processor, and return to the pot after
pureing. if the soup is too thick, add more water for desired
consistency. Reheat soup over low heat, stir in the cayenne, wine,
tomato paste, vinegar and molasses and simmer for 3 minutes more.

Taste for salt and add if necessary. When ready to serve, ladle the
soup into serving bowls and sprinkle with some chopped egg white.
Float a slice of lime on the surface of each bowl and sprinkle with
a little minced parsley.

Note: if cured ham is used, pure it with the soup.

The Versatile Grain
and the
Elegant Bean
by Sheryl and Mel London
ISBN 0-671-76106-4
pg 316
Submitted By DIANE LAZARUS On 03-29-95

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