Black Bean Soup With Rum - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 cups dried black beans
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
6 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 Turkish bay leaf (or 1/2 California)
1 large ham hock
6 cups beef stock or broth
4 cups water
1/3 cup dark rum
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

soak beans in cold water to cover by 2 inches for at least 8 hours; drain
Melt butter in a 6-8 quart heavy pot over moderately low heat. Add onions, celery, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf, and cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add ham hock, beans, stock, water, and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, adding more water if necessary to keep beans covered, until beans are very tender, about 3 hours.
Remove bay leaf, and cut meat from the ham hock into bite size pieces, then return to soup.