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Here’s a hearty soup that’s perfect for the coming holiday season. It’s easy to make, it feeds a crowd, and you can prepare it advance. Company coming to stay for Thanksgiving or Christmas? This is a great option for the nights following your holiday feast – when folks get tired of leftovers. It’s healthyish too which is often welcome after several days of mashed potatoes and stuffing. I also like this soup for holiday parties. Prepare a generous spread of appetizers and a big pot of this soup and let folks help themselves. Be forewarned – they will ask for the recipe.
Looking for more hearty soups and stew recipes? Try my Chick Tarragon Stew or Turkey Chili.
Notes on French Market Soup
So, I think of this soup as a poor (and lazy) man’s cassoulet. Poor, because we replace the more expensive meats often found in cassoulet (e.g., duck and pork tenderloin) with a ham hock and chicken. Lazy, because you don’t have to brown a whole bunch of stuff first. I just chuck everything in the pot and come back a few hours later. You also don’t have to soak or marinade anything overnight!
That’s right I don’t soak my beans overnight. Have you ever noticed how many different instructions there are out there about the best way to cook dried beans? Soaking overnight versus the quick soaking method (or no soaking), when to salt, cover the pot or don’t cover the pot, etc. This Epicurious article brakes these claims down nicely. Their bottom line is – it doesn’t really matter that much. They did slightly prefer the quick soak method so I’m going with that. I do think it speeds up cook time more than the overnight soak.
I make this soup with a whole chicken – I think this adds more flavor to the broth. If you prefer, you can substitute 4-6 chicken thighs.
French Market Soup
Description
A hearty soup that will feed a crowd and win you many compliments.
Ingredients
- 1 bag of 15-bean dry bean mix
- 1 ham hock or meaty ham bone
- 1 small whole chicken, about 3 lbs
- 2 tsp salt, more to taste
- 6 peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 large onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, crushed by hand
- 6 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 lb smoked turkey sausage (I use the fully cooked kind)
- 1 small bunch parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Quick Soak the Beans: Put beans in a large soup pot and cover with about 2 inches of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, stir, and let rest for 1 hour. Transfer beans to colander to drain. Return beans to pot and add 8 cups of water.
- Add salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme, ham bone and chicken to the pot. Partially cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken and simmer 30 minutes more. Transfer chicken to cutting board. Allow to cool and then shred and set aside.
- Add tomatoes, onion, garlic, veggies, and cayenne pepper. Simmer for 1 to 2 more hours (until beans are soft but not mushy). Retrieve the ham bone. Shred the meat and toss it back in the pot.
- Add smoked sausage and shredded chicken. Heat through
- Serve with chopped parsley and crusty bread.
Sarah
Yum!
★★★★★