On chilly evenings, I crave a hearty hot soup. Most of the time, Greg will look at a bowl of soup and I know he is thinking, “Is this all we are having for dinner?” But not my French Market Soup. I have kept this recipe in my files for over 15 years. The paper it is written on is yellow and stained, but I can’t bring myself to throwing out the old card. It brings back precious memories of when my boys were still at home. It remains, by far, one of our favorite recipes.

It is a hearty meal in a bowl, full of great flavors and, better yet, it is a relatively healthy alternative—especially if you use low-fat sausage and skinless chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. I wouldn’t skip the ham bone myself…some things are simply too essential to the flavor of the soup!

Serves 8–10

Cook time: 6 hours

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of 15-bean dry bean mix
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 ham hock or meaty ham bone
  • Cayenne pepper to taste
  • 1 qt chopped tomatoes
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, chopped (lots or little, to your taste)
  • 6 stalks of celery, chopped
  • 1 lb smoked sausage
  • 4–5 chicken thighs

Directions:

  1. Wash dry bean mixture, cover with water, add salt, and put to soak in a very large bowl overnight. Drain and add 3 cups water, ham hock, and bay leaves. Simmer covered 3 hours.
  2. Add tomatoes, onions, garlic cloves, celery. Add a pinch of cayenne. Simmer 1 1/2 hours uncovered.
  3. Add smoked turkey sausage, chicken thighs. Cook until chicken falls off bones. Remove bones, return chicken to soup, season to taste.