A favorite Hawaiian comfort food coming from Hawaii's melting pot, which brought Portuguese workers to the islands in the late 1800's and created a number of staple local foods.

Servings: 4-5
Prep/cooking time: 2-3 hours

Ingredients

  • 1lb smoked ham hock

  • 10oz package of Portuguese sausage

  • 6 cups water

  • 1 can diced or crushed tomatoes

  • 1 can tomato sauce

  • 1/2 cup dry kidney beans (or bean of your choice), soaked in water overnight, or 1 can

  • 1 cup diced onion

  • 3/4 cup diced celery

  • 3/4 cup diced carrot

  • 1 Cloves Garlic, minced

  • Fresh Black Pepper

  • Salt to taste

  • 1 cups Chopped Cabbage

  • Macaroni Pasta cooked in salted water (optional)

Directions

  1. Boil ham hock in water for 2 hours to make a broth (or 45 minutes in a pressure cooker on high.) Remove ham hock from broth, place in a bowl and let cool. If using dry beans, cook beans according to package instructions, strain and set aside.

  2. Cube or slice sausage and brown in a saute pan over medium high heat. Remove sausage and add diced onions to the same pan, utilizing the fat left over from the sausage. Cook until translucent. Add some water or white wine to allow any brown bits to release from the pan (thats flavor!)

  3. Add sausage, onions, tomato sauce, diced/crushed tomatoes, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and pepper to broth and cook for another 30 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Season with salt to taste.

  4. Once ham hock has cooled, pull out the meat and add it to the soup You’re almost done! Just put the cabbage in 10 minutes before serving. Portion out pasta into bowls and pour soup over it. That way the pasta doesn’t overcook in the soup.

  5. **tip: if you soak your beans with a pinch of baking soda it will help them to fully soften. Rinse beans before adding to soup.

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