Ham Hock, Bean and Vegetable Soup #glutenfree #winterwarmers

I don't know what the weather in your part of the world is like at the moment but it has been both cold and wet in Brisbane. This means for us, it is hot soup weather. I like to add the ham hock when making this soup to give it a rich, smoky flavour. This soup can be cooked in the pressure cooker if you are pressed for time or, cooked slowly on the cook top. What could possibly be better on a miserable cold afternoon than a kitchen filled with the fantastic, mouth watering smells of good food. 

Ingredients:

1 Ham Hock
2 cups Dry Bean Soup Mix (Make sure there is no barley in the soup mix as this is gluten-free meal.)
1 Onion - diced
1 large Carrot - diced
1-2 Celery Sticks - diced
2 Zucchini - diced
2 -3 Potatoes - peeled and diced
3 cloves Garlic - finely chopped
1 400g tin peeled,crushed Tomatoes  (If you prefer a deeper richer colour, add extra 1/2 - 1 tin of crushed tomatoes)
1/2 cup White Wine
3 Bay Leaves
Flat Parsley - chopped
Salt and Pepper

Method:
 
Add a little olive oil to the pressure cooker or large saucepan.  
Stir fry garlic, bay leaf, onion, carrot, and celery for 5 minutes on medium heat.
Add white wine and cook for another 2  minutes. 
Add ham hock and dry bean mix. 
Add water until the saucepan is half full or the ham hock is covered.
Cover with lid  and cook 45-60 minutes on medium heat (If using a normal saucepan, cook for 45-60 mins, then simmer for 2 hours.)
Remove the lid, add more water (I use approximately double the amount of water as the pressure cooker is unable to tolerate a large volume of liquid.)
Add tomatoes and potatoes, cook for another 45 minutes, 
Add zucchini and cook for another 30 minutes or until the ham hock is soft.
Add salt and pepper to taste. 
Place some chopped parsley over before serving. If you like, add a little Parmesan cheese. 

Tips:-

• ***Make sure the pressure cooker is not under pressure before removing the lid. Trying to remove the lid while it is under pressure will result in terrible burns.

• For a vegetarian soup cook without the ham hock.

• This soup becomes richer on storing. If too thick, add water when reheating 

Contact: lee.leehocklai@gmail.com 

Using a pressure cooker shortens the cooking time