Punahou Portuguese Bean Soup

Every year during the annual Punahou School Carnival weekend, my son brings home a container of Portuguese bean soup from the carnival. They’re pretty famous, you know—the carnival and the bean soup.

I got to hankering for some bean soup a short while back, and looked up the recipe. It had one ingredient I’ve never put in my Portuguese bean soup before: Potatoes. So anyway, I thought I’d give it a try, tweaking it a tiny bit to my tastebuds’ expectations. Plus, it gave me a chance to use my new veggie chopper that I bought from a Facebook ad.

You know what? I like it! The soup and the chopper. Therefore, it’s the recipe I’ll be using from now-on-in, and I’ve thrown my old recipe away.

Just so you know, this recipe makes a lot of soup—at least a gallon, maybe more.

Ingredients 

• HAM BONE/HOCKS, 1-2 pounds
• KIDNEY BEANS, two 15-ounce cans
• POTATOES, 2 large, cubed
• CARROTS, 3 large, diced
• ONION, 1 medium, chopped
• CRUSHED TOMATOES, one 16-ounce can
• TOMATO SAUCE, one 16-ounce can
• PORTUGUESE/LINGUISA SAUSAGE, at least 1 pound sliced in circles
• ELBOW MACARONI, 1 cup uncooked
• GARLIC, 2 cloves
• SUGAR, 1 teaspoon
• SALT, 1 teaspoon
• PEPPER, 1/2 teaspoon
• CABBAGE, 1 medium head, cubed

Directions 

1. Boil ham hocks or ham bone in 2 quarts of water, about an hour, until tender (save the stock). Cut meat from the bones, chop up.
2. Bring ham stock back to a boil; chopped meat and all the remaining ingredients except the cabbage.
3. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring frequently.
4. If too thick, add a little water.
5. Add the cabbage, cook another half-hour until tender.
6. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt and pepper if needed.