Ham bone, ham bone

What does one do when one has a leftover ham bone what does one do?  Make ham stock and then thick rustic Brazilian Black Bean Soup.  Serve it with some thick slabs of crusty bread and you have a delectable meal in a bowl.

Brazilian Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 8 ounces dried black beans
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 14 ounces canned chopped tomatoes
• 2 pints ham stock
• 1 ham bone or 2 ham hocks
• 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 4-5 pieces each
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried juniper berries
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 2-3 sprigs thyme
• 2 Tablespoons rum
• 1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• Sour cream, optional

Preparation

In the morning, put 8 ounces of dried black beans in a bowl and cover with cold water by a thumb's length.  In a stock pot, but the ham bone, onion - including the skin (discard the root end), celery, bay leaves,  juniper berries, and black peppercorns.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.  Simmer for 2-3 hours.  Cool, strain and chill until fat sets.  Remove the fat before adding to the beans.

Five to 6 hours after the black beans have been soaked, strain and rinse.  Heat oil over medium heat in a 5 quart pan.  When oil is hot, add cumin and cook, stirring frequently, for 30 seconds.  Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.  Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently for 3 minutes.  Add beans, tomatoes and ham stock and simmer for 3 hours or until the beans are soft. If necessary, add water if it becomes too thick at any time. Stir in rum for last 5 minutes of cooking. Add salt or pepper to taste.  If you like a little creaminess to your soup, puree half of it in a blender and mix back together or use an immersion blender on the whole pot until you have the consistency you like.

Ladle soup into bowls.  Toss the tomato, red onion and cilantro together and garnish bowls of soup with this rough salsa.  If inclined, add a dollop of sour cream to the top.  If you like your meals spicier, add a chopped green chili to the salsa topping. If you have leftover ham, chop it up into bite-sized pieces or smaller and add it to the soup in the last 10 minutes of cooking.