We’re going home! Well… at least our taste buds are. Homestyle Collard Greens & Ham Soup takes you right back to a Sunday night at your Southern granny’s house. Each spoonful comes filled to the brim with juicy pork, tender lima beans, and your favorite collard greens, all soaked in a savory, steaming-hot broth. Ahh, it’s really just like grandma made it! Kick off your shoes, leave the city stresses at the door, and come home to the slow-paced, good time that is this Homestyle Collard Greens & Ham Soup! Ah, it tastes, oops, feels good to be home!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more, to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more, to taste
- 2 (1.5-pound) smoked pork hocks
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- 1 pound large dried lima beans, rinsed
- 1 bunch fresh collard greens, stems removed and chopped into pieces
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- hot sauce, to taste
Directions
Step 1 –In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the oil until it is hot and shimmering.
Step 2 –Add the onions to the hot oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are translucent and tender, about 4-5 minutes.
Step 3 –Add the garlic to the onions and cook until it is fragrant, about 1 minute.
Step 4 –Season the onion-garlic mixture with 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1 teaspoon of the pepper.
Step 5 –Reduce the heat to medium. Add the smoked pork hocks to the onion mixture and cook, stirring and flipping the meat occasionally, about 5 minutes.
Step 6 –Add 4 cups of the chicken stock, the water, and the lima beans to the ham hock mixture and stir until they are fully combined.
Step 7 –Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the Dutch oven. Cook the ham mixture, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender, about 1 hour.
Step 8 –Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked ham hocks to a bowl and let them cool, about 10 minutes.
Step 9 –Use two forks to shred the ham hock meat off the bones; discard the bones, the excess skin, and the fatty pieces.
Step 10 –Add the ham hock meat to the broth mixture and stir to combine.
Step 11 –Add the collard greens, the remaining chicken stock, the apple cider vinegar, and the hot sauce to the ham mixture and stir to fully combine.
Step 12 –Cover the Dutch oven and simmer the soup until the collard greens are significantly wilted, about 1 hour.
Step 13 –Taste the soup and season with the extra salt, the extra pepper, and more of the hot sauce and stir to combine.
Step 14 –Serve.
