My grandfather used lots and lots of black pepper, especially to season Meme’s vegetable soup. It tasted wonderful, so it wasn’t like he was trying to hide the taste. He just loved pepper. We always had vegetable soup in the winter, using the vegetables we had canned or frozen that summer. This recipe easily doubles or triples. I like to make a large batch and enjoy it a few days in a row. You can prepare this with the traditional ham bone or opt for a vegetarian version. Serve with piping hot biscuits.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6 to 8

　　1 ham bone, with some meat on it

　　2 bay leaves, preferably fresh

　　1 sprig of thyme

　　6 cups water

　　1 (15-ounce) can tomato puree

　　1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole tomatoes, with juices

　　2 cups shelled fresh butter beans (about 1 1/2 pounds unshelled) or frozen butter beans, thawed

　　1 onion, preferably Vidalia, chopped

　　Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　3 carrots, sliced into thin rounds

　　2 stalks celery, chopped

　　2 Yukon gold potatoes, cubed

　　1/2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

　　Scraped kernels from 4 ears fresh sweet corn (about 2 cups) (see page 188)

　　1/4 pound fresh okra, stems trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (optional)

　　Meme’s Biscuits (page 204), for accompaniment

　　

Step 1

In a large pot, place the ham bone, bay leaves, thyme, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to low and simmer until the broth is flavorful and fragrant, about 1 hour.

　　

Step 2

Add the tomato puree, whole tomatoes with juices, butter beans, and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking on low heat until the butter beans are just tender, about 30 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, green beans, corn, and okra. Continue cooking until the vegetables are tender, about 30 additional minutes. Remove the bay leaves and thyme. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.

　　

Step 3

Enjoy with hot biscuits.

　　From Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories From Three Generations of Southern Cooking, © 2008 by Virginia Willis. Reprinted by permission of Ten Speed Press. Buy the full book from Amazon or Abe Books.