easier than pie…

I’m actually embarrassed to share this one with you. I mean, it is so easy that it hardly counts as “cooking”. Still, it sits on the stove for a few hours gently simmering, makes the house smell wonderful, and feeds me (and sometimes friends as well) for days, so I guess it counts. And, you do have to chop the onion…

The thing is, you *could* do it the hard way. By that I mean you could buy five different kinds of dry beans, soak them overnight (after picking out any bad ones and bits of pebbles or other detritus), then cook them each in their own way until done. Or, you could buy five cans of various beans to your taste and go from there.

That’s what I choose to do. But, I’m a lazy cook from time to time.

Honestly, when I measure my time against starting form “scratch”, well, I guess I’d just rather do other things than mind all those dry beans. Enough already, here’s my recipe for the world’s possibly easiest soup.

Stupid Easy Smoked Turkey and Bean Soup

simmering silently

1 onion, chopped
olive oil
1 smoked turkey wing or drumstick
5 cans of beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of “fire roasted” tomatoes

Put a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy Dutch oven. Heat over medium heat and add the chopped onion. Sautée until the onion is transparent. Add the turkey, then all the rinsed beans and the can of tomatoes. Add maybe 1/2 can of water to where you can just see it, do not drown the beans.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 hours.

Remove from heat and remove the turkey to a plate. Let the turkey cool, remove the meat from the bones and add the meat back into the pot. Stir well and enjoy.
***

See? Embarrassingly easy but oh so good. And, if you are of the vegetarian persuasion you could certainly do this with no turkey and 1/2 tbsp of smoked paprika added to the onion. Mmmm!

Now, just a few notes. I usually use a mixture of chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, and whatever other kinds they have at the store. Also, if you can’t get your hands on “fire-roasted” tomatoes, you could certainly use something like stewed tomatoes instead.

This freezes well, tastes better on about day 3, and is fine with a simple rough red wine and a hunk of bread. I wish we’d had more cold days this “winter”…

What is your ultimate comfort food? I think this might be mine! Mmmm…

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