Fried­lan­der won’t admit an influ­ence, offer­ing a good pot of beans as inspi­ra­tion enough and my father always said you weren’t really poor until you drank off the soup and cooked the beans again. I make these every few weeks.

Rinse a pound of white beans, great north­ern or navy don’t mat­ter, and soak in water overnight. In the morn­ing drain the beans and put them in a stock­pot along with a large diced white onion, a minced clove of gar­lic, 2 bay leaves, and a ham bone. Fill the pot with water a few inches above the beans and tie together a hand­ful of pars­ley and as many sprigs of thyme as you can find and set in on top. Bring the pot to boil on high heat and care­fully skim off any foam and scum that forms up on the sur­face, then turn the heat down low and half-way cover with a lid. Sim­mer the beans slow for two or three hours – what you want is just the per­cep­tion of bub­bling. From time to time skim off any more scum that might rise to the sur­face and then give the pot a good stir. Once the beans are cooked through remove what’s left of the tied up herbs and the ham bone and stir in salt and pepper to taste. Should you have any leftover ham, cut that up and add that to the pot too and simmer another twenty minutes and then the beans will be done. Best if you wait a day or two to let everything marry. Invite friends over; the beans are fine with toasted bread and baked squash. Freezes well.