Leftover Ham and Lentil Soup. Leftover Ham and Lentil Soup includes super yummy leftovers from the Riesling-Peach Glazed Ham and makes a hearty, healthy, and tasty dinner! In a Dutch oven, bring ham bone and water to a boil. To broth, add the lentils, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions and seasonings; bring to a boil.

Ham bones can be used to either make a nice ham stock or you can just throw the bone right into any number of tasty soups and it adds a ton of flavour as simmers away. This time I was thinking that I don't use lentils often enough and that a ham and lentil soup would be really nice. Lentil soup will accommodate lots of variations. You can have Leftover Ham and Lentil Soup using 30 ingredients and 6 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Leftover Ham and Lentil Soup

Prepare of Base.
Prepare of Hunk of butter (or oil).
Prepare 1 of onion, diced.
You need 3 cloves of garlic.
Prepare 3 of carrots.
Prepare 1 tsp of flour.
It's Splash of wine.
Prepare 1 cup of stock (chicken/pork/veggie all work).
Prepare of Bouquet Garni (herb bundle).
You need of Cheesecloth.
Prepare of Butcher’s twine.
You need 1 of cinnamon stick.
Prepare 2 of bay leaves, broken.
Prepare 2 of allspice.
It's 2 of star anise.
You need 4 of cloves.
Prepare 1/2 tsp of black peppercorns.
Prepare 1/2 tsp of fenugreek.
You need 1 of dried chili pepper.
It's 1 tsp of thyme.
You need of The Soup.
Prepare 1 cup of dry lentils (green or yellow).
Prepare 1 of Tupperware of leftover roasted ham, diced.
Prepare 1/2 tsp of cumin (optional).
Prepare 1/2 tsp of garam masala (optional).
You need of Salt and pepper.
It's of Garnish.
Prepare of Chopped fresh cilantro.
You need of Sour cream.
You need of Croutons.

Instead of curry spices, you could try an Italian blend of basil, oregano and bay leaf. Any of your favorite vegetables will work too: green beans, peppers, corn or peas all work well here. This versatile soup makes an excellent vehicle to use up or stretch leftover meat from the night before. Add your delicious veggie mixture to a crock pot or large soup pot.

Leftover Ham and Lentil Soup step by step

Cook your lentils. Wash dry lentils thoroughly (all sorts of weird stuff turns up in dry lentils, I found a piece of wood in mine). Add to a large pot of boiling water, boil for half an hour and drain, reserving water..
Make your herb bundle. Double layer a square of cheesecloth. Lay all the things you don’t want to chew in the middle. Bundle it up, tying with butcher’s twine. Do not make my mistake and include veggie stalks - I thought it would be an easy way to impart more flavour, but forgot they would expand and stretch out the cheesecloth..
Make your base. Melt some butter; sauté onions, carrots, etc. until soft. Add the herb bundle, push it around for a bit, then toss it in the soup pot. Add minced garlic, cooking briefly. Add flour and cook until nutty. Splash in the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the good bits while letting the alcohol evaporate. Slowly incorporate stock..
Amass the soup! Add your delicious veggie mixture to a crock pot or large soup pot. Add the cooked lentils. Add the reserved lentil water until everything looks a bit too runny. Add cumin and garam masala, if using, and salt and pepper. Cook on low for as long as you’ve got (1-3h) on low heat..
Get some texture. Dig out the herb bundle and 2 cups of soup. Purée the rest with a hand blender. Return veggies. Fry ham (with basting sauce, if you still have it) and add..
Garnish and serve!.

Add the reserved lentil water until everything looks a bit too runny. Add cumin and garam masala, if using, and salt and pepper. Lentil Soup with Ham has tender cooked lentils, vegetables, and salty chunks of ham that come together in a hearty, delicious soup! After the holidays, when ham is often on the menu, this Lentil Soup with Ham is a great recipe to cook with some of those leftovers. A ham bone left over from a previous meal gets a second chance when simmered with lentils and vegetables to make a hearty soup in less than an hour.