Mexican Ham And Bean Soup

Total Time: 3 hrs 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 lb dried pinto beans or 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans
• 8 cups fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups cubed smoked ham (about 8 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder, blend (not straight chili!)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 whole dried chipotle chiles or 1 whole dried ancho chiles or 1 whole pasilla chile
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese (i used cheddar, but monterey jack was the original suggestion)
• finely chopped cilantro (optional)
• lime juice (optional)

Recipe

• 1 to "quick soak" beans: rinse and pick over beans and place in a large pot. cover with cold water to 2 inches above beans and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. remove from heat, cover and let sit for at least an hour. alternatively, you can soak your beans overnight, or use rinsed, canned beans.
• 2 "refresh" the dried chile by placing in very hot water for 15 - 30 minutes. discard seeds and chop finely.
• 3 drain beans and put them in a large soup pot with broth, onion, water, ham, and herbs and spices. bring to a boil, cover lightly, and reduce heat to medium-low.
• 4 if you are using dried beans: simmer 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. then, stir in tomatoes (including juice if you wish) and "refreshed" chile; simmer an additional 30 minutes.
• 5 if you are using canned (or pre-cooked) beans: you can add the tomato and chile with the other ingredients. cook for a total of 30 minutes or as long as you wish to develop flavours fully.
• 6 discard bay leaves.
• 7 serve in bowls garnished with cilantro and a squeeze of lime.
• 8 this freezes well, just freeze (without lime or cilantro) in 1 or 2 serving portions. thaw in the fridge or microwave straight from frozen. a squeeze of lime after reheating really "freshens" this up after freezing.