Capitol Hill Bean Soup
It’s finally been cold here in the South Bay. I mean, like 40’s cold. Now, I know that may not seem cold in other parts of the country, but here in Southern California, that’s downright frigid. So, when it’s that cold I look for hot, comforting foods; things like chili or casseroles or hearty, thick soups. I love soup, especially on a cold day. My favorite is tomato, but I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to food. So, if I find a new recipe, especially one that’s comforting, I try it.
I found this classic soup in Southern Living. It’s a combination of beans and potatoes which make a thick and creamy soup that’s like a nice warm blanket on a cold night… with meat! That’s right, there’s not only beans and potatoes in this awesome bowl of goodness, there’s ham, too.
If this soup sounds good to you, you’re not alone. According to Southern Living, turns out this soup “has been in the Senate’s restaurant every day since at least 1903.” There are a few theories on how this soup came to be. One says that an Idaho Senator, Fred Dubois, insisted the soup should always include mashed potatoes (from Idaho of course). Another says that Senator Knute Nelson simply loved the soup and requested it frequently at the restaurant. As you can see they all loved the soup and people still love the soup today. This soup is so iconic in fact, the recipe is on the Senate’s website.
As you know I love a good vintage cocktail. Well, it turns out I love a good vintage recipe as well. And if this recipe has been around since at least 1903 and is still super popular, I knew I had to try it. The only thing that scared me was soaking the beans over night. See, I usually like my dinner recipes to take no more than an hour… unless that recipe is a slowcooker recipe. And the idea of soaking the beans over night was terrifying because it meant I had to plan ahead. As the mother of two boys, let me tell you, planning ahead isn’t a luxury I have. I mean, I rarely remember to take my protein out of the freezer the night before, how was I supposed to remember to soak a bunch of navy beans? But the recipe sounded really good and I needed something warm and cozy since the weather had been bone-chillingly cold. So, I planned and I soaked those beans a good 15 hours or so.
Turns out it wasn’t much work. I just dumped the beans in a big pot, covered them with water and left it on the counter before bedtime. The cool thing about soaking the beans overnight is the next morning they were plump and soft and now I had a bean broth that added extra flavor to the soup overall. That broth, plus the beans, a potato and some ham, made for a soup that not only filled me and my family up on a cold evening, but was soooo good, I can’t wait to make it again.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried navy beans, rinsed
- 2-1/2 quarts water
- 1 ham bone
- 1 large Idaho potato
- 3 cups chopped celery
- 2 large yellow onions, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Place the beans in a large dutch oven, add the water and soak for at least eight hours and up to overnight.
- When ready to cook the soup, add the ham, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer at least an hour.
- While the beans and ham simmer, rinse the potato, pierce with a fork and microwave until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Peel the potato, mash it and add it to the pot. Stir in the celery, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and simmer for at least another hour.
- Remove the ham bone from the pot and let cool for 10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove the bone and fat and dice the meat. Stir the cut up meat into the soup.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, top with parsley and serve.
