I had a soup similar to this at TurnRow a few weeks ago. It was so delicious that I literally have thought about it every single day since then. It’s pouring rain today and I really wanted to put off undecorating so I got in the kitchen and whipped this up. It’s so good I can hardly stop eating long enough to type this.
Turnip Green Soup with Ham and White Beans
She may not be purdy, but she’s got a great personality.
You need:
2 boxes chicken broth
2 cups of cooked greens (I’m using mustard greens because I had some leftover from Christmas dinner but you can use anything you want. You can buy frozen chopped greens in the freezer aisle and not have to clean and shop, etc.)
1/2 of one large sweet onion, diced
2 cans Northern beans, drained
1 ham steak, cubed and cooked (about 1 1/2 cup
s of cooked ham, however you want to get it. Doesn’t matter to me.)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I added a little bit more if you want extra heat.)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Hot sauce (Crystal), salt and pepper to taste.
So here is what I did– I poured the chicken broth in a big stock pot, dumped in the greens and added salt, pepper and minced garlic. Drain the beans and dump them in too.
In a separate pan, cook your diced ham for 8-10 minutes on medium high heat until it’s done. Dump the ham in the soup. In the same pan where you cooked the ham, add the onion and cook until it is soft, then… you guessed it… dump it in the soup.
Add cayenne, salt and pepper, cumin, and thyme while the soup simmers. Taste it then add hot sauce to taste. Die of happiness.
I needed a lil something extra to go with this so I made Mexican Cornbread. I have used this same recipe for about 15 years, I’m fairly certain it came out of a Southern Living at some point but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Mexican Cornbread
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
1 cup cornbread mix (I used gluten free so I wouldn’t want to kill myself tomorrow.)
1 17oz can of creamed corn
1 cup of sour cream (Trust me, peeps. I’ve never led you astray.)
1/2 cup of oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 4oz can of chopped green chiles, drained (If you are a fan of spizy food, add about 1/4 cup of diced jalpenos too. You will not be sorry.)
1 1/2- 4 cups of shredded cheddar (You don’t REALLY need four cups of cheese. But more is more, ya know?)
Mix first six ingredients together then fold in 3/4 cup of cheese.
In an iron skillet (this is non-negotiable) heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil. Get that baby HOT. (That’s what she said. Sorry) You want the oil ALMOST smoking. Then pour in the batter. It will sizzle and crackle and pop and your cornbread crust is FRIED. Oh my Gawd. You are welcome.
Put the skillet in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. When the top is set but NOT browned,
…snatch that skillet out of the oven and dump the rest of the cheese on top. Put the cornbread back in the oven until the cheese is bubbly and browned.
You are about to be so happy. Just remember, I’m already married. Sorry.