A holiday ham turns into one sensational soup

We decided a ham would be perfect for our end-of-the-season holiday meal, so I headed out to a supermarket whose email ads claimed they had organic hams. When I showed up, it turned out that the store had none.

The following day, I called another of their stores and asked if they had any organic hams; they had one and promised to put my name on it as long as I got there before noon.

I arrived before noon, and the meat person handed me a 10-pound ham with my name, “DON,” on masking tape attached to the package.

My ham landed with a thud on the checkout conveyor belt, and when it arrived in front of the checkout person, she looked down, saw the name “DON,” and asked if I'd named it.

We laughed as I asked her to place “DON” in the supplied canvas bag carefully.

That ham's bone was ultimately headed to a soup pot. At first, I thought I would make it into split pea soup. Then, I decided I wanted something different and found a Ham Bone Soup recipe on The New York Times' website.

Since I'd already gone to the trouble and expense of securing an organic ham, it made sense to make my soup with all organic ingredients, most of which I already had.

I made a few changes to the The New York Times' recipe. Instead of slicing the carrots, I diced them to make them easier to eat and did the same with the celery.

The recipe also suggested using the bacon fat from the cooked bacon to saute the vegetables. That was a big flavor booster.

The aroma in my kitchen, especially from the onions and garlic, told me I was headed in the right direction.

The New York Times uses a bay leaf for seasoning, a classic addition in many soups. I have ground bay leaf in my spice rack, so I used it; no need to remove the leaf at the end.

The Times used kale in their soup. I am not a big fan of kale, so I used whole, organic baby spinach leaves instead. Those leaves would cook much faster and deliver both flavor and nutrition.

The ham bone was in the center of the whole ham. My ham was big — too big for the two of us. I removed all the spiral-sliced ham meat with a sharp knife and put some in quart-sized freezer bags, some of which I refrigerated for the soup and a couple of meals. The rest went to the freezer.

Cannellini beans were supposed to go in my soup until I discovered I didn't have any in my pantry. So I quickly switched to black beans, which actually worked out.

My new, all-organic ham bone soup turned out really well. The flavor was sensational; everything was cooked perfectly and looked great in the bowl.

If you've got a ham bone, give this recipe a try. You won't be disappointed.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

Easy Organic Ham Bone Soup

4 organic, sugar-free bacon strips (about 4 ounces) sliced into ½-inch pieces

3 medium-large organic carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut into large dice

2 large organic celery stalks, trimmed, strings removed and sliced

1 large organic onion, peeled and diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 organic ham bone

¼ teaspoon ground bay leaf (or 1 whole bay leaf)

1-quart organic, low-sodium chicken broth

1 quart water (preferably filtered)

2 teaspoons sea salt

½ head organic green cabbage, shredded (about 8 cups)

2 (15-ounce) cans of black beans, drained

2 cups chopped organic ham

1 (5-ounce package) well-washed, organic baby spinach leaves

½ to 1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

Place a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring from time to time, until crisp, about 7 minutes; remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, but leave bacon fat in the pot.

Add onions to the pot and sauté for 2 minutes. Add carrots and celery to the pot and sauté, stirring from time to time, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ground bay leaf and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the ham bone and bay leaf, if not using the ground. Add chicken broth and water and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the cabbage and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Add the beans and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped ham and spinach and simmer until spinach is bright green, about 5 minutes. Remove the ham bone and discard. Stir in the black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with crumbled bacon on top.

Serves 8.

Nutrition values per serving: 234 calories (30.6% from fat), 7.9 g fat (2.6 g saturated fat), 28 g carbohydrates (20 net carbs), 6.2 g sugars, 7.9 g fiber, 13.6 g protein, 21 mg cholesterol, 890 mg sodium.

Suggestion: Cannellini, navy or pinto beans may be used in place of the black beans.

SaltSense: Omitting the added salt reduces the sodium per serving to 310 milligrams.

Don Mauer