Senate Bean Soup
Beans are an easy source of protein, and considered cheap food for fueling our bodies. In the story of the Prodigal Son, we learned that after the young man had squandered his inheritance, he would have been glad to eat the pods or husks thrown to the swine. He was hungry!
Here in the Great Lakes area, it’s cold from Halloween until nearly Mother’s Day. I’m always glad for an inexpensive meal that goes far to fill bellies and feeds us for a couple of meals. I take a shortcut and employ ready-to-use beans rather than soaking them. My husband is always willing to cut up onions or peel potatoes, so our soup is a shared effort. There’s a lot of joy to putting a meal together, together!
My writers’ group gets together for retreats about four times a year. We use the time to share food, writing, and critiques. One of our members calls this, “Senate Bean Soup.” It’s based on a soup served daily in the Senate Dining Room.
Luke tells us the Prodigal Son had a happy ending. If this soup had been served at his welcome home dinner, I believe he’d have been even happier.
Senate Bean Soup
Ingredients
1 jar Randall’s navy beans
1 pound ham cubes (preferably with soup bone) or a smoked ham hock
1 large russet potato, peeled and quartered-boiled and mashed, save the water for the soup
1 smaller potato, peeled and cubed
1 quart water or chicken stock (or vegetable)
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground pepper
*Kosher Salt to taste, if desired
Directions
In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and stir in the diced onion, cubed potato, chopped celery, and the ham and ham bone. When onions are transparent, add the beans, mashed potato, potato water, and water or chicken stock, mustard powder, and pepper. Stir it all together. Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer partially covered for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes and celery are tender. The longer you cook it, the thicker it gets. Toss in the parsley and pepper just before serving. It’s great left over.
*If you’re watching salt, remember that ham is salted, and chicken stock probably is too. You can always add salt…but it’s hard to undo too much of it.