Garbure (French Ham and Vegetable Stew)
The key to the rich flavor of this peasant soup is the smoked ham hock. Be sure to purchase a meaty cross-cut hock (which looks like an osso buco-cut shank); other hocks offer little meat. Or look for a smoked pork shank. The soup-stew is so thick with beans, leeks, root vegetables, and cabbage that you can almost eat it with a fork. And it's the type of dish that gets better with each successive reheating.