Traditional Bean Soup Featuring Wheat Berries

Ingredients

• 1 ham bone
• water to cover
• 8 ounces dried navy beans
• 8 ounces cranberry beans
• 8 ounces wheat berries
• 1 tablespoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
• fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• 8 ounces dried lentils
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 ripe avocado, diced
• 2 green onions, sliced, or more to taste

Step 1

Place the ham bone in your slow cooker and cover it with water. Let it cook on low for about 12 to 15 hours until it smells wonderfully fragrant and you have a rich stock. While that’s going, soak the navy beans, cranberry beans, and wheat berries in a big bowl of cool water for at least 8 hours or overnight. Once soaked, drain them well.

Step 2

Take the ham bone out of the slow cooker, then add the soaked beans and wheat berries back in. Toss in the celery salt, thyme, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and some black pepper. Turn the slow cooker to high and let everything cook for around 4 hours, until the beans are tender but still have a bit of bite.

Step 3

Finally, stir in the lentils and keep cooking on high for another hour or so, until they’re soft. Give the soup a taste and season with salt and black pepper as needed. When you're ready to serve, top each bowl with some diced tomatoes, avocado, and chopped green onions for a fresh finish.