Caldo Gallego

I love to make soup on the weekends, especially cold weekends. One of my very favorite recipes is Caldo Gallego. It is a rich flavorful hardy soup made with a ham bone, beans and potatoes.

I also like to prepare my meals fast and easy so I take plenty of shortcuts, but my shortcuts never diminish the original flavor of a dish.

Every Christmas, at one time or another, I serve a spiral ham. I save the bone and bits of ham in the freezer for soup later. Put the ham bone in a large crockpot full of water. Add just a bit of salt and garlic and cook over nite. In the morning turn it off and let it sit on the counter until you are ready to prepare the soup, or refrigerate for later.

Pour the broth and bone into a large caldero. Always leave the bone in the soup. Bones give food, rice, soups, etc a richer flavor. Add 4 onces cooked minced ham, 2 - 15oz cans of cannellini beans, 1 can diced potatoes, about half a cup of sofrito, fresh mashed garlic, lots of chopped fresh or frozen recao, 1 pkt Sazón with achiote, olives, capers, chopped green onions, minced chorizo español, and a bit of cayenne pepper to give it a nice kick. . Bring it to a boil then let it simmer for at least one hour and it's done. How easy is that?

I've seen internet recipes that call for chicken or chicken stock. Forget that. This is basically a ham soup. Some recipes call for greens but I skip that. If I were to include greens I would use fresh baby spinach.

Serve with tostones and enjoy!

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