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a bowl of thick pale broth with large soft white lima beans, torn pink ham pieces and wilted chopped spinach, without cream garnish or whole celery-root chunks
Rachel Kim

Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup

Large lima beans make this crockpot soup especially soft and buttery, with celery root blended into the broth for body instead of a spoonful of flour or cream. Roast the garlic while the soaked beans have their preliminary boil, then squeeze the sweet cloves into the slow cooker before the long cook begins. The ham bone seasons the pot gradually, and the meat comes off it at the end when it's easy to separate from the gristle. Spinach waits until the final short cook so it adds green pieces to the bowl rather than dissolving through eight hours of heat. This needs a little setup, but the slow cooker handles the part that would otherwise keep you checking a pot all afternoon.
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Prep Time 8 hours 20 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 16 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb dry large lima beans sorted and rinsed
  • 10 cups cold water for soaking
  • 10 cups fresh water for boiling
  • 1 whole head garlic
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 meaty cooked ham bone about 1 1/2 lb
  • 12 oz celery root peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 7 cups water for soup
  • 1/2 tsp dried sage
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3 cups baby spinach washed and roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp fine salt only if needed

Method
 

  1. Cover beans with soaking water and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours, then drain and rinse; preparation time includes an 8-hour soak. Heat oven to 400°F.
  2. Cut the top from the garlic head, drizzle with oil, wrap in foil and roast for 40 to 45 minutes until soft. Meanwhile, bring beans and fresh boiling water to a full rolling boil and boil for 30 minutes, then drain.
  3. Put drained beans, ham bone, celery root and onion in a 7-quart slow cooker. Squeeze roasted garlic from its skins into the cooker and add soup water, sage and pepper.
  4. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours until the beans are very tender and the meat loosens from the bone. Lift out the bone and celery-root chunks.
  5. Blend celery root with 1 cup broth from the cooker using an immersion blender in a tall heatproof container, then stir the puree back into the soup. Pull usable meat from the bone, discard bone and gristle and return the meat.
  6. Stir in spinach, cover and cook on high for 15 to 20 minutes until the greens soften and the ham reaches 165°F. Add lemon juice and taste before adding up to the measured salt, then divide among eight bowls.