It’s not Christmas soup, the beans are Rancho Gordo Christmas limas. BIG. MEATY. DELICIOUS.
This is what I used, but there are no rules for soup.
1lb dried RG Christmas limas
1 tennis ball sized onion
2 stalks of celery
1 important part of a leek
5 medium cloves of garlic
2 large carrots, or the equivalent in small carrots
20 oz of thick cut bacon, 1” dice
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp sweet (regular) paprika
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp Heaven Made Neau Bay seasoning. You can substitute any other general purpose seasoning; I’d recommend lemon pepper. But it’s your soup. Adobo seasoning would be great, too.
2 qts chicken broth (I used low sodium BtB, use what you like)
1 cup uncooked rice
salt & pepper to taste
1) Get your stuff ready. Dice the celery, the leek, the carrots, the onion. Mince the garlic. Have the other stuff measured, it will make everything else easy.
2) Make the beans. I kept the broth, using it to make a total of 2qts liquid. Set aside.
3) Brown the bacon.
4) Add the diced vegetables and sautée them for a bit, like 5-7 minutes or so: until they’re bright, but not past.
5) Add the paprika and the flour, and stir well. You’re making a roux with the bacon grease, to keep the flavor and so you won’t have to skim it later. Turn the heat down and cook that for a couple minutes, don’t let it burn.
6) Add the chicken broth and deglaze the bottom of the pot.
7) Add the beans and their broth, and the Neau Bay, and the bay leaves. Do a low simmer, with the lid slightly ajar, for about an hour. Scrape at the bottom every now and then; these beans are heavy and tend to pile at the bottom!
8) After about an hour, remove the bay leaves. Check the thickness, see if it suits you. If it does, add the rice and two cups of hot water. If it is too thick, add three cups of hot water. If it is too thin, just add the rice. Let it simmer, again lid slightly ajar, for another half hour or until the rice is thoroughly cooked.
9) Check the thickness again. Add water if necessary. I don’t think you will have a problem with it being too thin. This is right about where I like my bean soup.
10) Salt and pepper to taste. I added no salt at all: bacon and the (low sodium) BtB, and the salt in the Neau Bay was pretty much right there. I added maybe a tablespoon of black pepper.
Order up! I take my bean soup with shredded cheese, hot sauce, and crumbled tortilla chips instead of saltines!
This is EXCELLENT. DO NOT buzz up or mash these beans, part of what makes this so delightful is getting those big beautiful beans on the spoon! These beans are not the bland limas you get frozen or canned; these are really earthy.
You can do anything with this, though. It’s soup. You can go Southwestern or Cajun instead of European. Ham or sausage, or chicken or turkey, instead of bacon. Go all vegetarian. Add mushrooms. Or potatoes. Soup is where you get to put stuff you like all in the same pot, and eat it all at once!
This is what I used, but there are no rules for soup.
1lb dried RG Christmas limas
1 tennis ball sized onion
2 stalks of celery
1 important part of a leek
5 medium cloves of garlic
2 large carrots, or the equivalent in small carrots
20 oz of thick cut bacon, 1” dice
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp sweet (regular) paprika
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp Heaven Made Neau Bay seasoning. You can substitute any other general purpose seasoning; I’d recommend lemon pepper. But it’s your soup. Adobo seasoning would be great, too.
2 qts chicken broth (I used low sodium BtB, use what you like)
1 cup uncooked rice
salt & pepper to taste
1) Get your stuff ready. Dice the celery, the leek, the carrots, the onion. Mince the garlic. Have the other stuff measured, it will make everything else easy.
2) Make the beans. I kept the broth, using it to make a total of 2qts liquid. Set aside.
3) Brown the bacon.
4) Add the diced vegetables and sautée them for a bit, like 5-7 minutes or so: until they’re bright, but not past.
5) Add the paprika and the flour, and stir well. You’re making a roux with the bacon grease, to keep the flavor and so you won’t have to skim it later. Turn the heat down and cook that for a couple minutes, don’t let it burn.
6) Add the chicken broth and deglaze the bottom of the pot.
7) Add the beans and their broth, and the Neau Bay, and the bay leaves. Do a low simmer, with the lid slightly ajar, for about an hour. Scrape at the bottom every now and then; these beans are heavy and tend to pile at the bottom!
8) After about an hour, remove the bay leaves. Check the thickness, see if it suits you. If it does, add the rice and two cups of hot water. If it is too thick, add three cups of hot water. If it is too thin, just add the rice. Let it simmer, again lid slightly ajar, for another half hour or until the rice is thoroughly cooked.
9) Check the thickness again. Add water if necessary. I don’t think you will have a problem with it being too thin. This is right about where I like my bean soup.
10) Salt and pepper to taste. I added no salt at all: bacon and the (low sodium) BtB, and the salt in the Neau Bay was pretty much right there. I added maybe a tablespoon of black pepper.
Order up! I take my bean soup with shredded cheese, hot sauce, and crumbled tortilla chips instead of saltines!
This is EXCELLENT. DO NOT buzz up or mash these beans, part of what makes this so delightful is getting those big beautiful beans on the spoon! These beans are not the bland limas you get frozen or canned; these are really earthy.
You can do anything with this, though. It’s soup. You can go Southwestern or Cajun instead of European. Ham or sausage, or chicken or turkey, instead of bacon. Go all vegetarian. Add mushrooms. Or potatoes. Soup is where you get to put stuff you like all in the same pot, and eat it all at once!
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