I was recently faced with this predicament and thought that with the upcoming holiday eating festivities, so might you. While ham hocks are generally what is called for, I made this with a leftover ham bone and it was delicious!
Portuguese Bean Soup
Your ham bone from xmas dinner. (or 2-3 medium sized smoked ham hocks)
3 cups chicken broth
1 pound Portuguese sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 large or two small sweet onions, coarsely chopped
2 medium sized potatoes, peeled & cubed
1 cup chunky diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
4 cups coarsely chopped cabbage
3 15-ounce cans kidney beans with liquid
2 14.5-ounce cans diced organic tomatoes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 cups of elbow macaroni
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 bunch flat leaf (Italian) parsley
2 Tablespoons of black peppercorns
5 fresh bay leaves or 3 dried bay leaves
All amounts are approximate. You may want to add more or less of any ingredient depending on your own personal taste. Feel free to play with this recipe. In large stock pot, combine ham bone, onion, garlic, black peppercorns and bay leaves. Add chicken broth and just enough water to cover the ham bone completely. Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer. Simmer covered for about 2 hours. After two hours, remove the ham bone/hocks and de-bone, dice any meat and set aside. Put the pot in a large bowl of ice or your fridge and after about 30 minutes skim any fat off the top. Return pot to the stove. To the pot, add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, beans, carrots, celery, potatoes, ½ of the parsley and ½ of the cilantro and all of the cabbage. Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Add in diced ham and Portuguese sausage. Continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Add macaroni and cook until cooked through (about 10 minutes more). Serve topped with fresh chopped parsley & cilantro and cracked black pepper.