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Meme's Vegetable Soup

Source of Recipe

From "Bon Appétit, Y'all" by Virginia Willis


Recipe Introduction

"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."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 ham bone, with some meat on it
â—¦ 2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
â—¦ 1 sprig of thyme
â—¦ 6 cups water
â—¦ 1 (15-ounce) can tomato purée
â—¦ 1 (14 ½-ounce) can whole tomatoes, with juices
â—¦ 2 cups shelled fresh butter beans (about 1 ½ pounds unshelled) or frozen butter beans, thawed
â—¦ 1 onion, preferably Vidalia, chopped
â—¦ Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 3 carrots, sliced into thin rounds
â—¦ 2 stalks celery, chopped
â—¦ 2 Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
â—¦ ½ pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
â—¦ Scraped kernels from 4 ears fresh sweet corn (about 2 cups)
â—¦ ¼ pound fresh okra, stems trimmed, cut into ½-inch pieces (optional)
â—¦ Meme's Biscuits, for accompaniment



Recipe

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.

Add the tomato purée, 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. Enjoy with hot biscuits.

Serves 6 to 8



Meme's Biscuits:

Meme most often made rolled biscuits. For large biscuits, she had a special aluminum cutter with a small wooden handle that fit in the palm of her hand. She cut out small biscuits with an empty apple juice can open at both ends. Some purists use lard instead of butter. Although I like biscuits made with lard and understand the tradition and history, Meme and Mama had started using butter by the time I was born. The perfect biscuit should be golden brown and slightly crisp on the outside, with a light, airy interior. For a flaky, tender biscuit, don't overwork the dough: gently combine the ingredients until just blended. A very hot oven is essential. The steam interacts with the baking powder to create the biscuit's ideal textures inside and out.

â—¦ 2 cups White Lily or other Southern all-purpose flour, or cake flour (not self-rising), more for rolling out
â—¦ 1 tablespoon baking powder
â—¦ 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
â—¦ 4 tablespoons (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits and chilled
â—¦ ¾ to 1 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 500° F. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Pour in the buttermilk, and gently mix until just combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly, using the heel of your hand to compress and push the dough away from you, then fold it back over itself. Give the dough a small turn and repeat 8 or so times. (It's not yeast bread; you want to just barely activate the gluten, not overwork it.) Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out ½ inch thick. Cut out rounds of dough with a 2 ¼-inch round cutter dipped in flour; press the cutter straight down without twisting so the biscuits will rise evenly when baked.

Place the biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet or in an 8 by 2-inch round cake pan. If the biscuits are baked close together the sides will be moist. If the biscuits are baked further apart, the sides will be crisp. Bake until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool just slightly. Serve warm.

Makes about 9 biscuits