Caldo Gallego (White Bean Soup)

Ingredients

• 0.5 teaspoon pepper black freshly ground
• 2.5 cups navy beans dried
• 3 tablespoons flour all-purpose
• 4  garlic cloves minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 6 packets ham-flavored concentrate 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 2 cups onion chopped
• 2 cups roma tomatoes chopped
• 0.5 teaspoon salt 
• 8 ounce ham smoked cubed ()
• 0.3 pound chorizo spanish
• 1 cup pkt spinach fresh chopped
• 6 cups water 
• 1 cup white wine 
• 0.8 pound yukon gold potatoes cubed peeled

Equipment

• bowl
• whisk
• dutch oven

Directions

1. Sort and wash beans.
2. Place in a large Dutch oven with water to cover 2 inches above beans; cover and let soak 8 hours.
3. Drain, discarding water.
4. Remove casings from chorizo, and slice diagonally. Saut chorizo and ham in olive oil 5 minutes or until meats begin to brown.
5. Add onion, and saut 10 minutes; add garlic, and saut 30 seconds.
6. Stir in flour. Gradually add water, whisking constantly until sauce is smooth. Stir in beans, ham concentrate, and next 6 ingredients. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 1/2 hours or until beans are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in spinach, and remove from heat. Spoon soup into individual bowls.
7. *For testing purposes, we used Goya ham concentrate.