Ham and Beans and More

1 pound dried Great Northern beans, sorted and rinsed

4 cups water

¼ cup celery, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 bay leaves

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 leeks (bulb only), cut in half lengthwise

1 pound cooked ham, cut into bite-size pieces

5 slices bacon

4 cups chicken stock

1 pinch sea salt to taste

1 pinch fresh ground black pepper to taste

Place the beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Drain and rinse before using.

Combine the soaked beans, 4 cups of water, celery, onion, bay leaves, cumin, garlic powder, and parsley into a slow cooker.

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir the leeks in the butter mixture until tender and the smaller pieces start to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the leeks to the slow cooker. In the same pan, cook and stir the ham until the edges start to brown; stir into the soup. Place the bacon into the hot skillet, and pan-fry until the bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes. Cut the bacon into bite-size pieces and stir into the soup. Pour the chicken stock into the hot skillet, and stir to dissolve any brown flavor bits from the skillet; pour the chicken stock into the soup. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Set the cooker to Low cook the soup until the beans are very tender, 6 to 8 hours. Roughly mash about half the beans with a potato masher to thicken the soup.