White Bean Soup with Ham

I am a sucker for white bean soups. I've had some that were super bland. I've had some that were very flavorful. This one has lots of flavor. I really liked it with cornbread. This is also part of the September 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My teammate is Dreamgoddess from Alabama, USA.

White Bean Soup with Ham
1 lb smoked ham hocks
3 cups dried small white beans, rinsed and picked over
12 cups chicken OR beef OR vegetable stock OR water (I used beef stock)
2 medium onions, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Put smoked ham hock, beans and liquid together in a large saucepan. Turn heat to medium high. Add onions. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium low and cover so lid only partially covers pan. Cook, stir occasionally until beans are soft and meat is falling apart. About 1 hour. Turn off heat. Remove meat and chop it up if desired and return to pan.

You definitely want to serve this with some type of cornbread.