Green Tomato and Country Ham Soup For Cold Weather

Here we were on Nov 11 with record cold temperatures predicted for the coming night and we awoke to a light covering of snow that morning with this as my first view out our living room window.

Then a shot of the neighbors pasture and house on the hill and a couple around our yard where we rarely see snow on leaves.

And the really good news is that we have leftovers from a just made pot of beef stew and a big pot of Green Tomato and Ham Soup using the recipe from the now defunct Bistro Restaurant in Tellico Plains.  We were reminded of it during a recent visit to Tellicafe where the Bistro chef now works.  Here is the recipe for this odd sounding but totally delicious soup – assuming you like green tomatoes.

Green Tomato and Ham Soup

Ingredients:

7 ea    Green tomatoes

1 lb     Country ham (Benton’s preferred)

1 qt     Heavy cream

1 qt    Chicken broth

1 T     Salt free chicken base or 2 bullion cubes

1 T     Crushed red pepper (optional)

1 t      Hot sauce or to taste (optional)

Directions:

1. Trim the fat and bake the country ham until just warmed through and dice into small pieces.

2. Dice four of the green tomatoes into small (about 3/8’) pieces and puree the other three tomatoes.

3. Mix all ingredients in a 6 qt. pot over medium heat, stirring often.

4. Bring to a simmer and thicken with corn starch dissolved in water – start with 1 cup water and 1/3 cup corn starch and adjust to desired thickness.

5. Remove from heat and refrigerate over night to marry the flavors.

6. Reheat and serve garnished with a basil leaf.

We omitted the last two ingredients for the non-heat lovers but a little Sriracha works well in the bowl.

It doesn’t make a good pic but I had a small bowl of both the soup and the stew for a perfect cold weather supper.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

11/11/19 event date