To be honest, I’ve never eaten Senate Navy Bean Soup before, let alone heard of it until my sister-in-law Jennie brought it up on a recent family Zoom meeting. I’ve made my own Navy Bean Soup which was more thick in its consistency than this, but just the same, it’s comforting to enjoy on a chilly winter’s day. Comments I read about it indicated it was nothing special but provided warmth and sustainance on long Capital Hill days of legislating back in the day. It’s been on the menu for over 100 years. Other soups have taken over the spotlight, but it continues to be available in both the Formal Senate Dining Room as well as the Public Senate Cafeteria. I prefer a little more kick to my soups, so I had to jazz it up a bit with more flavors and renamed my version Herbed Senate Navy Bean Soup. I know these days who wants to talk politics, but I felt it necessary to include the name in the recipe since that was its source of origination.
The Back Story:
Upon request, Jennie sent me her mom’s recipe which she said came from the Washington Post years ago. The links here provide a bit of history behind the origination of this soup over 100 years ago. Here are a few tidbits of info to peak your interest to read further:
- There are 2 tales of its origin: 1903 Democratic Sen. Fred DuBois-Idaho, 1904 Republican Sen.Knute Nelson-Minnesota- A bipartisan agreement is evidently possible when it comes to food. Who knew?…Pork anyone?
- Exclusively used Michigan navy beans
- Mandatory inclusion on Formal Senate Dining Room Menu
- House Speaker Joe Cannon(1904) demanded it be placed on the House menu every day
- House version doesn’t include onions
- Senate original version didn’t include carrots, celery or garlic
- They didn’t have the beans to serve it on one day in the last 100+ years (1940’s rationing)
- It has its own link on the Senate website:https://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/bean_soup.htm
Another link from WAMU, D.C.’s NPR station:
The Prep:
The Navy Beans are soaked overnight in 3 quarts of water. Drain, rinse and add back into a large soup pot or Dutch Oven. Add 3 quarts of water along with the ham hock and 2 Bay Leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and allow it toย simmer for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Proceed to prepping your veggies about an hour before simmering is complete. They can then be placed on a side burner to await their saute moment.
Evidently, the addition of carrots, celery and garlic are not in the original Senate Navy Bean Soup. However, onions were in the Senate version and not part of the House version of this hearty soup. I say the more veggies, the better! The updated version does include the mashed potatoes I imagine they are used as a thickener because of their starch content. Another way to thicken it would be to remove about a cup of the beans and mash them up and add them back into the soup.
After simmering for about 2 hours, remove the ham hock and allow it to cool. Peel away the fat and remove the meat. It’s probably falling offย the bone to your touch as we speak. Remove and chop up the meat into small bits. Add it back to the soup.
Peel, cut and boil about 1/2 pound of Russet potatoes until tender and breaking apart, Drain and mash. Stir into the soup until no longer evident. If you have any leftover mashed potatoes, you could definitely use them and save a little bit of time!
Add in the veggies and herbs along with the salt and pepper. Bring back to abrief boil and simmer for about another hour. Adjust the seasonings as desired. I tried not to add more salt until I tasted the impact the herbs had on the flavor. If you choose to use 2 quarts of water instead of the 3 as I did, the original salt, pepper and herbs could be cut back by about a 1/3 … Use 2 teaspoons of thyme and rosemary instead of 1 tablespoon of each and between 2-3 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley.
Serve it up!
Remove the Bay Leaves and ladle it up! ย Buttermilk Drop Biscuits are a perfect accompaniment to this hearty Herbed Senate Navy Bean Soup.ย I do believe it’s even better the second day. It’s thickened up a bit more and the herb flavors seem to be more prominent. Either way, it will be sure to hit the spot on a chilly winter’s day!
Herbed Senate Navy Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound navy beans, soaked overnight in 3 qts of water, drained before using
- 2-3 quarts water
- 1.5-2 pounds ham hock
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 c mashed potatoes--(about 8 oz Russet)
- 2 T butter
- 1-1/2 to1-3/4 c onion, finely diced
- 2 t minced garlic cloves
- 1 c diced celery(3-4 stalks)
- 1 c carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise, sliced
- 1-1/2 t salt
- 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 c parsley leaves, finely chopped.....or 1 heaping tablespoon of dried, finely chopped
- 1 T fresh thyme leaves..or 1 heaping teaspoon of dried, finely chopped
- 1 T fresh rosemary, finely chopped..or 1 heaping teaspoon of dried, finely chopped
Instructions
Navy Beans:
- Soak Navy Beans in 3 quarts of water overnight or at least hours before making soup.
- Drain, rinse and place back into large pot or Dutch Oven.
Soup:
- In a Dutch Oven or large soup pot, add the soaked beans with 2-3 quarts of water. I used 3 in this recipe.
- Place the smoked ham hock along with the 2 bay leaves in the pot of beans and water.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and continue to simmer about 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
- Remove ham hock. Once cooled enough to handle, remove the meat then chop it up. Discard what remains.
- Stir in the mashed potatoes and chopped ham.
- To a saucepan add the prepped vegetables with the butter and saute until they are soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add to the soup.
- Add the salt, pepper and chopped herbs.
- Bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat; simmer for an additional hour.
- Remove bay leaves then ladle it up!
