Ham and Potato Soup

"Is there anything better on a cold winter day than a big bowl of hearty ham and potato soup? True, thereis some close competition from white bean and ham soup. Come to think about it, both versions areat the top of mylist. This recipe is forthe potato and ham variety. You can use either aleftover ham bone and some ham from aglazed hamor you can use a meaty ham shank. You could even use a ham hock, but the hocks aren’t as meaty as the shanks, so if you use hocks, you’ll likely need extra ham. I’m using chicken stock for this soup, along with the broth that the ham bone or shank naturally creates while it cooks. I’m doing this to save time. If you want to make the soup entirely with the broth that comes from a leftoverham bone, you can easily do that. Just cover the ham bone with water and pot, bring to a simmer, cover and let cook for an hour before starting the recipe. You could probably also just put the bone in a slow cooker with some water overnight to make some ham stock. Whether you use chicken stock or not, both methods work fine, you’ll save an hour if you use chicken stock, and you will likely need to add less salt. Speaking of salt! Potatoes need more than a littlesalt to taste good. Ham has plenty of sodium. So, good match right? Yes, this is one of the reasons they taste so good together. But you do need to taste and adjust for salt, every time. If the soup seems bland, add salt until it is no longer bland. If the soup is too salty for you, add more potatoes...."