Senate White Bean Soup!

  

This is called 'Senate' white bean soup, because it has been served in the United States Senate dining room for over 100 years and has always been a big favorite there.  This particular recipe was given to me by a dear lady years ago who was one of the best southern cooks I have ever known.  She and her husband served as the directors over the Southern Baptist Association in our county.  The summer after I graduated from college I worked at the missions office, as did my sister, and we really grew to love Reverend and Mrs. Tallant.   They were just wonderful people.  This soup always reminds me of them.

Mrs. Tallant would cook a nice lunch for everyone each day and we would all eat at the office there, because at night or in the afternoon, myself and two or three other girls would get in my little car and travel all over our county to the small rural churches and help them conduct their Bible schools.  It was a lot of fun, but it makes me tired just thinking about it now.  Needless to say, we needed those nourishing lunches.  

 This soup was something she would make for the monthly pastor's luncheon.   All of the ministers in the area would come together for a meeting once a month or sometimes twice and Mrs. Tallant would have a nice meal prepared for them.  I think that is what got a lot of them to the meeting actually.  This basic recipe makes quite a bit of soup for a family, but if you are feeding a crowd like she did, you can double it.  

 Here is what you'll need:

1 lb. navy or great northern beans

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup grated or shredded carrot

1 Tbs. minced garlic

1 ham hock or meaty ham bone

2 cups chopped ham (can use country ham or smoked ham)

1 Tbs. bacon drippings

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

2-3 drops of Tabasco sauce (optional)

Wash and sort the beans.  Place in your soup pot or dutch oven and cover with water about an inch over the top of the beans.  Bring to a boil.  Boil for just a few minutes.  Remove from the heat and drain well.  Place back in the pan with about 2 quarts of water.  Add the chopped celery, onion, garlic, and shredded carrot. Add the ham hock or ham bone and the bacon drippings.  Season with salt and black pepper.  Bring up to a boil then turn down to simmer and simmer covered for about an hour.

Add the chopped ham and cook for about 2 more hours on medium low heat.  Remove 2 cups of the beans and mash them with a fork and return to pot.  This just thickens the soup. Also, remove the ham hock or ham bone and trim any of the lean meat from it. Discard the fat and bone.  Cook for about 30 more minutes.  The soup should be nice and thick at this point.  Taste for seasoning, depending on what type of ham you used, you might need more salt.  If you used country ham, you probably won't need any additional salt.

Senate White Bean Soup!





15 Bean and Ham Soup!

 

 

 This "15 Bean and Ham Soup" is just full of good flavor!  This is a soup that is not only very tasty, but it's also very filling and good for you.  Beans are full of fiber, antioxidants and protein!   Some of you might have seen the bag of '15 Bean Soup mix' in your grocery store along with the other beans, but never really knew what to do with them.   It is an odd assortment of beans, some of which you might never have even heard of.  However, when you cook them long and slow in a soup along with other seasonings, they all sort of take on the those flavors and taste wonderful.  

 

Here is what you will need for this delicious soup:

 

1 pkg. 15 bean soup mix, with ham flavoring packet

1 (15 oz. ) can diced tomatoes

1 medium sweet onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

8 cups water

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. salt

2 Knorr Chicken bullion cubes

1 Tbs. bacon drippings

dash of Tabasco sauce to taste (optional)

2 cups diced country ham or regular cooked ham

 

 



For those not familiar, this is what a 15 Bean Soup Mix looks like, make sure it has the seasoning packet!  This is an odd brand, because I bought it at a farmers market sort of place, but you can buy any brand at your grocery. 

 

 



Place the beans in a colander and rinse them well.  Pick through for any rocks, occasionally dried beans have a rock or two in them.  Buy the best grade of beans and they are less likely to have rocks and dirt in them.    Place them in a large soup pot and cover with water about an inch over the beans.  Place on the stove on medium high heat and cover.   Bring to a boil and boil for about 1 minute or two.  Turn off, and carefully pour back in your colander to drain.   This serves two purposes.  It's a good way to make sure the beans are very clean and it takes some of the undesirable side effects of beans out of the mix...so to speak...lol!   When you mix 15 kinds of beans up in one soup, it's a good idea!!! 

 

Place the beans back in the pot with all of the ingredients except the diced ham.   Bring to a boil, then decrease heat to medium low and cook covered for about 2 hours.   Check them periodically to be sure they have enough water.  

 

After 2 hours, stir and add the chopped ham.  I used country ham, because it makes all things better.  It's a Kentucky thing!  I know country ham is not available for many of you and any good cooked ham will work also.  The country ham is very salty so I didn't need any additional salt, if you use regular ham, taste for seasoning before serving and you might want to add some salt.

 

 Return to a medium low heat and cook for an additional 2 hours or until the beans are all tender and the broth is thickened slightly.  The longer you cook, the thicker the broth will be. This is really good served with Cornbread Hoe Cakes,  Aunt Vel's Sour Cream Cornbread,  or  Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread!

 

***Slow Cooker Directions:   Layer the beans, onion, celery, seasonings, tomatoes, and 7 cups of water in a slow cooker.  Layer the ham on top.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  Stir and turn the heat to high and cook for an additional hour or two to thicken.  This method does not produce a soup that thickens as much as the stove top method, but it still tastes wonderful and it's nice to come home to after a long day!