Ham and Greens Chowder
Written by Rachel, Posted in Dairy-Free, Dinner, Fruit, Lunch, Main Dishes, Meat, Pork, Potatoes, Soups, Vegetables
We got some amazing ham the other day from Llano Seco. Since Tim loves ham, I try to remember to have it appear on the menu every once in a while.
Because we are just two, even a mini ham yields leftovers. They are great for sandwiches, of course. But, a couple of months ago I made them into soup. I didn’t take any pictures, so I had to make it again last week.
Oh darn.
Might be ones of my favorite soups. Even the leftovers were gone within a day or two.
There’s all sorts of goodness happening in this soup. Potatoes, carrots, radishes, green garlic and spring onions. The stock is vegetable, made from the previous week’s older veggies that were on their way out.
Homemade goodness.
I love a creamy soup, so I added some almond milk. The milk was first whisked with a bit of flour and water to act as a thickener. I think this soup would be delightful without the milk and if it wasn’t thickened. But, I definitely like it best the way it is.
If you don’t like almond milk, you can use coconut milk, cow’s milk, goats milk, rice milk… you get the picture. Whatever milk you prefer to drink will work just fine. If you want a richer soup, cream would do the trick. Make it to your family’s tastes.
Any greens will do, but this time I chose kale and collards. I’ve made this before with mizuna (which tastes like a mild mustard green), and spinach would be perfect too.
I almost always like a squeeze of lemon on everything. It just brightens things up. This soup is no different.
Happy Eating!
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 C potatoes, chopped
- 1 C daikon radish (or any kind of radish), chopped
- 1 1/2 C carrot, chopped
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 3 stalks green garlic (or 3 cloves garlic), chopped
- 1 C spring onions (or regular onion), chopped
- 7 1/2 C vegetable stock (frozen is fine)
- 1/2 C corn
- 1 t sriracha (or other brand) hot sauce
- 1 C ham, chopped
- 1 T all purpose flour
- 1/2 C cold water
- 1 C milk (almond, coconut, cow’s…)
- 4 C greens (I used 12 kale leaves and 4 collards), chopped
- lemon wedges, for serving
- Heat soup pot. Add oil. When oil is hot add potatoes through pepper. Cook covered on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add garlic, onion, and if stock is frozen, add it now (if not, add it after the garlic and onions cook for 1-2 minutes). Cook covered, over high heat, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add corn, sriracha, and ham. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until veggies are tender.
- Whisk together flour, water, and milk. Add to soup. Let it simmer, but do not boil. Add greens and cook 2-5 minutes longer.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Serve with a squeeze of lemon.
