Senate Bean Soup

Name: Senate Bean Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 10 min
Yield: About 4½ quarts
Ingredients: 1 lb dried beans (marrow, navy, pea, or great northern); Water to cover (overnight soak), then enough to make 5 quarts; 1 smoked ham bone (a sizable ham hock may be used); 3 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed; 1 cup chopped onion; 1 cup chopped celery; 2 cloves garlic, minced; Salt and pepper, to taste

Marye Soups & Stews

Serves About 4½ quarts Prep 10 min + overnight soak Cook About 3 hours

Senate Bean Soup — ham, white beans, celery, parsley.

Magazine clipping kept in Marye's collection.

From a magazine clipping kept with Marye's papers. The headnote: "The Senate Restaurant is located in our nation's beautiful Capitol building, and their old-fashioned bean soup is on the menu every single day. It's a good recipe to make a day or so ahead and reheat to serve. Or freeze the chilled soup to have ready for sudden use. You can reheat it unthawed. Nice to make when you have a meaty ham bone on hand."

Ingredients

1 lb dried beans (marrow, navy, pea, or great northern)
Water to cover (overnight soak), then enough to make 5 quarts
1 smoked ham bone (a sizable ham hock may be used)
3 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Wash the dried beans and soak overnight in a large kettle in water to cover.
2. The next morning, add water to make 5 quarts total. Add the smoked ham bone with some meat on it.
3. Simmer about 2 hours, or until the beans begin to mush.
4. Add the cooked-and-mashed potatoes, chopped onion, chopped celery, and minced garlic.
5. Simmer 1 more hour.
6. Remove the bone; cut up the meat from it and return the meat to the soup.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Notes

The clipping has a "CAN BE FROZEN" snowflake badge — the soup freezes well and reheats from frozen.