Senate Bean Soup

It is still soup weather in Kentucky. I was looking for a soup that would heat things up around here. What better place to look for hot air than the Senate? It turns out that bean soup has been a staple of the Senate cafeteria forever. I got this recipe a long time ago from a cookbook that my mom got on a trip to Washington D.C. Some recipes I have seen for the soup require mashed potatoes instead of potato chunks. I'll let you decide which is better.

Senate Bean Soup

1 lb. Navy Beans
4 qts. Chicken stock
1 small ham hock
3 onions, finely diced
6 stalks celery, finely diced
2 large potatoes, finely diced
3 carrots, grated
½ tsp. Thyme
1 T. Parsley flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste


Boil the beans and ham hock in chicken broth until the beans are soft and the hock is cooked through and soft. Remove the hock and strip any tasty meat from the bone. Give the bone to a nice dog, but only if it has been good. Return meat to pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook until potatoes are soft. If soup is too thick, thin out with chicken stock. Mash beans slightly before serving.