Sweet Potato, Ham and White Bean Soup - Caramelized little ham cubes white beans the usual suspects went into the bean soup like onions, garlic, celery. I tried to keep the spices to a minimum and used a couple bay leaves, a fresh bundle of thyme and some red pepper flakes.
Soak the beans overnight in water covering the beans by 2 inches.
Drain the water and rinse beans. Transfer soaked beans to slow cooker and add fresh chicken stock to cover by 1 inch.
In a cast iron skillet brown the diced ham pieces until brown on all sides. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Scrape up the little browned crunchy pieces. Transfer the browned ham and deglazed pan juices in the slow cooker.
Add the seasonings of bay leaves, thyme bundle and red pepper flakes. Stir and cover to cook for 6 hours or until beans are tender.
After 4 hours add the diced sweet potato, chopped onion, celery and garlic.
Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and serve with some chopped parsley and crusty bread to sop up the soup.