Whoops! My friend CityMama e-mailed me today asking for my bean soup recipe. You see, a while back, when I had a ham hock kickin' around, I posted on my Facebook page that I was making U.S. Senate Bean Soup for dinner, and a few friends asked for the recipe ... which I promised here and am delivering a bit late.
But first, let me tell you about this amazing soup. It's been on the menu at the Senate's cafeteria since 1901 and is supposedly a favorite of Hillary Clinton's. For my family, though, it holds different memories. Everyone in my family makes this in some form, but my very favorite place to eat it was in the "Tea Room" at a department store called Stone & Thomas in Wheeling, West Virginia. Growing up, we would road-trip from my hometown further north to Wheeling to shop and eat there; and, when I was in college, my family moved to Wheeling, so that Tea Room and that soup became a bigger part of what "home" tasted like. Everyone in my family flavors it up by squirting in a little ketchup. (Such is life for those growing up in the greater Pittsburgh area, home to Heinz ... we put ketchup on pretty much everything!) Alas, now that soup tastes like a great memory, for that Tea Room and its store closed down about a decade ago. For nostalgia's sake, even the Guv, a bean cynic, had an extra bowl when I made it earlier this year.
Here is the recipe for you. Enjoy!
Pick over, rinse, and soak 1 1/4 c small dried white beans (pea or navy)
Drain and place in a soup pot along with 7 c cold water and 1 small ham hock
Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer until beans are tender, about 1 1/4 hours. Remove the ham hock. Discard the bone, skin, and fat; dice the meat and return to pot along with:
1 large onion, diced
3 medium celery stalks with leaves, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp salt (I omit most of this bc ham is often salty enough)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Simmer until potatoes are soft, 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher until the soup is a bit creamy. Stir in 2 T chopped fresh parsley. Ladle into warm bowls.
... and if you're in my family, season with ketchup to taste!
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