Navy Bean and Ham Soup

My fovorite comfort food on cold wet days. My wife, ( a bean hater) ate 1 1/2 bowls the first time I made this soup. I hope you enjoy it as musch as we do.

• Ready In: 4 hrs 15 mins
• Serves: 15
• Yields: 15 1 1/2 cup

Ingredients

• 2  lbs dried navy beans
• 1  ham bone
• 1  bay leaf
• 5  cups low sodium chicken broth
• 7  cups water
• 1  medium potato
• 1  large onion
• 3  carrots
• 12  garlic cloves

Directions

1. sort beans, rinse and add to stock pot.
2. scrub carrots, cut off ends and chop into bite sized chunks, cut the onion into bite sized chunks, add to pot.
3. peel potato and dice into very small pieces, add to pot.
4. add 5 cups low sodium chicken broth, 7 cups water, bay leaf, ham bone, then simmer @ 3 hours.
5. rub loose skin off of garlic cloves, place in a foil pouch, and roast 350 degree oven for @ 30 minutes until they carmelize. Let them cool until you can peel off the last layer of skin, add to 1 cup of bean soup liquid, and blend to a golden slurry and add back to soup. Remove ham bone and shredd meat, add back to soup. Simmer until beans are cooked to your preferred softness @ 30 - 45 more minutes.
6. Please note if you dice the potato very fine it will disolve and make the soup thick and tasty.