Election Day: Senate Bean Soup

The first time I had—or even heard of—Senate Bean soup was at McGuire’s Pub in Pensacola, Florida in 1991. Senate Bean Soup was on the menu for an astonishingly low price, the same price that the Senate cafeteria charged the Senators. They had the story and the recipe, and of course I ordered it. It was so good, it became an instant-classic, go-to comfort food. 

Yes, it simmers for three hours, but you won’t be disappointed. Serve it on Election Day, setting it up after you get home from voting in the morning, or set it up in a crock pot if you’ll be out canvassing all day; 6 hours on high or 8-12 hours on low. It’s a perfect foil to early-November chill, and it makes for excellent fare to serve during a results watch party.

This recipe serves four heartily, but you could easily scale it up to feed the election-day volunteers on the block, or an entire army of suffragettes. Top with shredded sharp cheddar, if you’d like, and garnish with slices of green onion tops or sprigs of fresh thyme. My favorite way to serve it is just as written, with freshly cracked black pepper on top.

Ingredients
1 pound dry navy beans
3/4 pound smoked ham hock
2 quarts chicken broth, vegetable broth, or cold water (the original recipe is simply water)

Note: Some chefs add1/2 teaspoon baking soda to help the beans soften. I find it’s not needed, and it’s not in the original, but it won’t hurt anything if you do this.

1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon butter (minimum; I measure butter with my heart)
fresh black pepper, to taste

Instructions
Rinse the navy beans and pick over. 

Dice the onion and set in the soup pot with the butter. Heat on medium or medium-high until translucent, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Pour the beans into pot over the onions. Bury the ham hock in the center of the beans. Pour two quarts broth or cold water and the baking soda, if using.
Bring just to a boil, then lower to a simmer, cover and cook for approximately three hours stirring occasionally, until the beans have fully softened.
Remove the ham hock and set it aside on a dish to cool. 
Pull meat from the ham hock into bite-sized pieces and return the meat to soup. Stir. Discard the picked-over ham bone.
Before serving, bring the soup to a boil and season. Taste before adding salt, as I often find that the ham imparts enough flavor that I don’t really want any seasoning except fresh black pepper on top of each bowl. Serve on its own or with a nice green salad to complement the richness of the soup.

Notes
This Senate Bean Soup recipe is based on the original served in the US Senate cafeteria.

These days, the Senate Dining Room still has Senate Bean Soup on the menu, but the prices have gone up: $3.45, $4.00, or $4.50 for one cup, a cup-and-a-half, or two cups, respectively. This recipe makes 8-12 cups of soup, and the most expensive part is the ham hock. The whole batch costs about $6.00 to make. [Math: $1.50 for beans; $3.50 for ham hock; $0.50 butter; $0.50 onion] You can spend more, and I usually do, getting the meatiest hock I can find, and using broth instead of water. Even at double the cost, it’s still a beacon of frugality. 

My tally from the most recent batch: $12 total, for 12 cups $6.50 ham hock; $1.50 navy beans; $4 organic chicken broth. 

This soup will keep in the fridge for up to three days, and freezes well. 

If you have access to a microwave at your office, a frozen serving in a leak-proof container (with some headspace) makes a nice “ice pack” in your lunch kit, and it will thaw by lunchtime. If you work at home, this can be frozen in single-serving containers and set on the counter for lunch that day. Warming in a saucepan is my favorite, but of course the microwave is fine too.