Old-Fashioned Potato Soup

Old-Fashioned Potato Soup
1 bay leaf
1 onion, peeled
2 whole cloves
1 small smoked ham hock
1 pound Maine or other white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 small turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups shredded savoy cabbage (about 1/2 head)
Stick the bay leaf onto the onion using the cloves as tacks. Put the onion and ham hock in a soup pot and add enough cold water to cover them, at least 2 quarts. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover partway, and reduce the heat. Simmer gently for 45 minutes, then skim any cloudy bits that have risen to the surface.
Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, turnip, and garlic to the pot along with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Continue to simmer, covered partway, until the ham is beginning to fall from the bone and the vegetables are almost tender, 20-25 minutes.
Using a meat fork, remove the ham and onion from the soup. Set the ham aside to cool a bit; discard the onion. Add the cabbage to the soup and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes more.
As soon as you can handle the ham hock, strip away the skin, fat, and bone and cut the meat into small bits. Return the ham pieces to the soup. Taste for seasoning - this soup wants lots of fresh ground black pepper - and serve.
Serves four to six.
Leannote: I used a lean smoked pork chop for the small ham hock.
Nutrition values per serving (assumes six): 122 calories (16 percent from fat), 2.2 g fat (0.7 g saturated fat), 20.4 g carbohydrates, 2.8 g fiber, 6.4 g protein, 11 mg cholesterol, 825 mg sodium.
"One Potato, Two Potato: 300 Recipes From Simple to Elegant - Appetizers, Main Dishes, Side Dishes and More" by Roy Finamore with Molly Stevens (2001 Houghton Mifflin, $35)