| 1 | Soak the beans overnight in cold water; rinse and drain. |
| 2 | Coarsely chop one onion, parsley, celery, garlic, basil and rosemary. |
| 3 | Place in stockpot. |
| 4 | Add beans, coarse-grain salt to taste and 5 quarts of cold water. |
| 5 | Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat, then simmer for about 1 ?hours. |
| 6 | Meanwhile, finely chop the remaining onion, chop up the tomatos in a food processor and cut the ham and salt pork into small pieces. |
| 7 | Heat ?cup of the oil and lightly saute the onion, ham and salt pork for about 10 minutes, then add the tomatos. |
| 8 | Taste for salt and pepper and add the thyme or tarragon. |
| 9 | Simmer for about 10 minutes, then set aside. |
| 10 | Clean and wash the cabbage. |
| 11 | Cut into ?inch strips. |
| 12 | When the beans have finished cooking, remove about half the beans and vegetables with a slotted spoon and puree in a food processor. |
| 13 | Return the puree to the stockpot and add enough cold water to make about 4 quarts liquid and bring to a boil. |
| 14 | Add cabbage and simmer about 25 minutes, then add tomatos and meat to the stockpot and simmer 5 minutes longer. |
| 15 | Toast the slices of bread and place in each individual soup bowl. |
| 16 | Ladle the soup over the bread and serve, adding a ts of olive oil to each serving. |
| 17 | Note: dried herbs may be substituted for fresh using 1/3 to ?ts dried for each tb fresh, or to taste. |
