Not-Quite Senate Bean Soup

ChrisMc's Note:

This is based on the soup served in the U.S. Senate cafeteria - I altered the recipe somewhat to suit my tastes. Dark bread goes very well with it. The soup also freezes well, so you don't need to worry about eating it all at once.

• Total Time: 4 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

• 2 lbs mixed dried beans
• 12 cups water
• 1 ham bone , with meat still on it
• 2 ½ cups mashed potatoes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 -2 chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic , crushed

Directions:

1. Heat beans and water to boiling and boil for 2 minutes.
2. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.
3. Add ham bone and heat to boiling.
4. Cover and simmer about 2 hours (or until beans are tender).
5. Stir in remaining ingredients.
6. Cover and simmer 1 hour.
7. Remove ham bone from soup and trim meat from bone.
8. Cut meat into small chunks; discard the fat and bone, and stir the ham into the soup.

Reviews

[ms_bold]

I had serious issues with the cooking instructions for this soup. After the first boil and stand, my beans were cooked, beginning to become mushy and sticking to the bottom of the pan after only 45 minutes of the 2 hour cook time. Luckily, I had checked on the pot and discovered this before it ended up being a pot of goo. I shortened the cook time by sautéing the onion and garlic in a separate pan and adding to the cooked beans. I also stirred just a few instant potato flakes into the bean soup for thickener instead of adding mashed potatoes. Overall, I saved the soup, and it did have good flavor. But, I won't be using this cooking method again.