Ham & Bean Soup

We use every part of our celebration spiral sliced hams.  This soup is the ham's last hurrah...so be sure to leave a good amount of meat on your ham!  You can also purchase smoked ham hocks, probably 3 would do it...

2 lbs dry white beans (you can use a mixture!)
water
ham bone or two
4 bay leaves
1 lb carrots, cut in medallions
1 onion, diced
6 stalks of celery, cut into pieces
2 tbsp tomato paste
1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
salt/pepper to taste

The night before you wish to serve the soup, put your dry beans into 10 cups of water.  Bring to a boil and boil for three minutes.  Cover, turn off the heat and allow to soak overnight.

The next day, drain the beans.  Add 10 cups of fresh water and the remaining ingredients.  Cover and simmer at least 2 hours, longer if possible.  You can also use a crock pot!

Once the simmering has gone on awhile, remove the meat and bones.  Shred the edible meat and return it to the pot.  Adjust seasoning.

I like to serve my soup with good parmigiana cheese and crusty french baguette.