A hearty, traditional navy bean soup simmered with a meaty ham bone, onions, celery and garlic. Mashed potato helps give the soup its characteristic thick, creamy consistency while pieces of ham make it substantial and satisfying.
Servings: About 8
Prep Time: About 20 minutes, plus overnight soaking
Cook Time: About 2 hours
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dried navy beans
- 12 cups water
- 1 meaty ham bone or 2–3 ham hocks
- ½ cup cooked mashed potatoes
- 3 onions, minced
- 4–5 celery stalks, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
- Hot water, as needed
- Salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Lemon slices, for garnish
Instructions:
- Place the navy beans in a large bowl, cover with the 12 cups of water and soak overnight.
- Transfer the beans and soaking water to a large soup pot. Add the ham bone or ham hocks.
- Bring to a simmer and cook until the beans begin to become tender, about 1 hour.
- Stir in the mashed potatoes, mixing thoroughly until smoothly incorporated into the soup.
- Add the onions, celery, garlic and parsley.
- Continue simmering until the beans are completely tender, about 1 additional hour.
- Remove the ham bone or ham hocks from the soup. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and dice it. Discard the bones.
- Return the diced ham to the soup.
- If necessary, add a little hot water to adjust the consistency. The finished soup should remain fairly thick.
- Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Serve hot, garnished with lemon slices.
Tip: Wait until the end to adjust the salt. The ham bone or ham hocks can contribute quite a bit of salt as the soup simmers.
Source: Culinary SOS — U.S. Senate Navy Bean Soup