Northern Beans and Pork Hock Stew

Northern Beans and Pork Hock Stew

Serves 6

Broth and Hocks

6 cups water

4 pork hocks, rinsed

2 onions, quartered (trim roots don’t peal)

3 ribs celery, broken into large pieces

3 carrots, broken into large pieces

2 bay leaves

2 cups dried white beans,


1 bay leaf
3 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
4 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 cups kale, coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry rosemary

1 teaspoon salt (don’t add salt until beans are cooked)

Pick over and rinse beans, soak overnight.

To a large soup pot add 2 bay leaves, 2 onions cut in quarters, 2 ribs of celery, 4 carrots and 4 pork hocks. Add water and bring to a boil, turn heat down to low. Cover the pot and allow it to gently simmer for 2 hours. Remove hocks and strain the broth, discard all the strained matter from the broth; rinse out stock pot and return the broth to the pot and put the hock aside to cool.

Add beans, with soaking liquid and bring back to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the beans are tender, 60 to 75 minutes. Remove 1/2 cup of the broth and 1 half cup cooked beans and set aside.

In a small bowl mash reserved beans and broth with a fork to form a paste. Stir the bean paste back into pot.

Remove all meat from the cooled pork hocks and return it to the pot, discard bones.

Return the cooking pot to the stove top and add the olive oil. Stir in the onion, kale carrots, garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper, simmer 30 minutes longer or until carrots are cooked.