While this stew is definitely heavier on the beans than on the ham, the hocks lend a rich, smoky essence that flavors the beans from the inside out. If you can’t find corona or gigante beans, sub in a smaller white bean like cannellini, but keep in mind that they’ll cook a lot faster. To compensate, make sure you give the ham hocks a 30-minute head start. You can let this stew sit a full 12 hours to let the flavors really meld together, but this step is totally optional. Serve the stew as the centerpiece surrounded by fixings that guests can pick and choose to build their own bowls.
Recipe information
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
Frizzled Shallots
3
½
Honey-Mustard Cream
½
3
1½
Stew and Assembly
3
2
2
2
½
2½
1
2
Preparation
Frizzled Shallots
Step 1
Heat shallots and oil in a small saucepan over medium, swirling often, until shallots are deep golden brown, 6–8 minutes. Pour into a fine-mesh sieve set over a heatproof measuring glass. Give sieve a good shake, then spread out shallots on a paper towel to drain. Season with salt; let cool.
Honey-Mustard Cream
Step 2
Stir sour cream, mustard, and honey in a small bowl until smooth; season with pepper. Cover and chill.
Step 3
Do Ahead: Cream can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Stew and Assembly
Step 4
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Cook onions and garlic, cut side down, and carrots, turning carrots occasionally, until cut sides of onions and garlic are golden, about 4 minutes. Add wine, stirring to release any bits stuck on bottom of pot, and cook until reduced by two-thirds, about 2 minutes. Add ham hocks, thyme, beans, and 9 cups water. Season with several pinches of salt and lots of pepper and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid, leaving slightly askew so steam can escape, and cook, adjusting heat to maintain a very gentle simmer and skimming foam from surface as needed, until beans are tender and creamy and broth is very flavorful, 2–2½ hours.
Step 5
Remove pot from heat and transfer ham hocks to a cutting board. Let sit until cool enough to handle, then pull meat from bones and tear into bite-size pieces; discard fat, skin, and cartilage. Add meat and knuckle bones back to pot as you go. Let stew cool uncovered until no longer steaming. Cover pot and chill stew at least 12 hours (you can skip this step, but it will dramatically improve the flavor).
Step 6
Bring to a very gentle simmer, covered, over medium-low heat. Pluck out and discard bones, thyme, onions, and garlic heads (don't worry about any cloves that may have escaped into stew). Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve with Frizzled Shallots, Honey-Mustard Cream, cornichons, and/or dill as desired.
Step 7
Do Ahead: Stew can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Leave a Review
Reviews (15)
Back to TopI love bean stews!... I'm just curious why you don't chop the onion but leave it in halves...how does that affect the overall taste and consistency of the dish?
Daniel Ochirosi
Stockholm, Sweden
11/8/2020
This was delicious!! Everyone loved it. Recipe clearly says “pluck out and discard...onion and garlic heads.”
Anonymous
Maryland
2/28/2020
For those wondering about what to do with the garlic, I have seen other recipes where you cook with the head intact (except for the top third that was cut off) and then at the end you squeeze the heads with tongs and the cooked flesh easily omes out in a paste that will flavor the broth. I imagine that is what they were going for here.
Anonymous
10/15/2019
The flavor was amazing, I loved the dijon cream addition. I made the soup 2 weeks ago and already plan to make it again tomorrow.
Anonymous
St. Petersburg, FL
1/15/2019
PLEASE tell us what to do with the garlic heads!!!
kildaira
Connecticut
10/25/2018
What do you do with the garlic?
Anonymous
10/22/2018
This soup was a crowd pleaser last night. Great broth and creamy beans go hand in hand. Definitely make the sour cream and fried shallots if you make this soup. They take no time to make but really improve the flavor. The sweet crunch bites of shallots with the dijon coming in at the end of the bite make this soup so good. The only reason why I gave this recipe 4 stars was because the directions were a little unclear. I followed the first paragraph of the soup assembly directions to a T. After letting it sit about 24 hours in the fridge I removed the ham and strained everything out. After bringing the broth to a gentle simmer I added 2 cans of Cannellini beans (I didn't use any dried beans) and hand torn ham back in. Right before serving I stirred in a hearty amount of chopped kale. The recipe doesn't specify straining the soup but without straining this would have been difficult to consume. However, the browned garlic heads and onion add so much goodness to the broth you can't skip browning them.
DarrahP
State College, PA
10/9/2018