Ham hock and borlotti bean broth

Serves 4-6

Mark Hi
Wednesday 06 June 2012 20:16 BST
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Ham hock and borlotti bean broth
Ham hock and borlotti bean broth

Fresh borlotti beans are becoming more and more popular in farmers' markets and specialist Italian delis. You can use good-quality canned or dried for this recipe, but they are not nearly as good in terms of texture. You can make the stock from a ham hock (or if you're in a hurry, just use some ready-diced pancetta and fry it with the onion).

To cook your ham hock, simply place it in a pan of cold water, bring it to the boil and simmer gently for a couple of hours until tender.

150-180g shelled weight of fresh borlotti beans, or the equivalent amount of dried and soaked, or canned
30g butter
1 medium onion, peeled, halved and finely chopped
A few sprigs of thyme
1.5ltrs ham hock cooking liquid
1 medium leek, halved, cut into rough 1cm squares and washed
150-200g or more of ham hock cut into rough 1cm chunks
Freshly ground black pepper

Place the borlotti beans in a pan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and then simmer for 4-5 minutes, then drain and wash under the cold tap (for dried or canned, follow the package instructions).

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and gently cook the onion for a few minutes until soft but without letting it colour. Add the thyme, leek, cooked borlotti beans and ham cooking liquid, bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the beans are tender.

Then add the parsley, simmer for a couple more minutes, re-season if necessary and serve.

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