Ham And Bean Soup With Spinach - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup ham, diced
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup carrot, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 (14 ounce) can white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups course chopped fresh spinach leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper

Preparation

In a medium stock pot, saute ham in oil and butter until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, add onion, celery, carrots and garlic over medium heat, until vegetables are softened, not brown.
Add chicken broth and seasonings; simmer 15-20 minutes.
Stir in cannellini beans, spinach and parsley.
Cook briefly just until spinach wilts, about 2-4 minutes.
Remove from heat.
In a small bowl, combine eggs and Parmesan with a whisk, I like to temper the egg/cheese mixture by adding 2 Tablesppons of the hot liquid from the soup, to the egg/cheese and stir quickly after each addition, then add egg mixture into the soup and stir until smooth.
Salt and pepper to taste.