Have you heard about the senate bean soup? Recipe inside.

E

evan

Well-known member
Senate Bean Soup

Bean soup is on the menu in the Senate's restaurant every day. There are several stories about the origin of that mandate, but none has been corroborated.

According to one story, the Senate’s bean soup tradition began early in the 20th-century at the request of Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho. Another story attributes the request to Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, who expressed his fondness for the soup in 1903.

The recipe attributed to Dubois includes mashed potatoes and makes a 5-gallon batch. The recipe served in the Senate today does not include mashed potatoes, but does include a braised onion. Both Senate recipes are below.

The Famous Senate Restaurant Bean Soup Recipe

2 pounds dried navy beans

four quarts hot water

1 1/2 pounds smoked ham hocks

1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

Wash the navy beans and run hot water through them until they are slightly whitened. Place beans into pot with hot water. Add ham hocks and simmer approximately three hours in a covered pot, stirring occasionally. Remove ham hocks and set aside to cool. Dice meat and return to soup. Lightly brown the onion in butter. Add to soup. Before serving, bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Serves 8.

Bean Soup Recipe (for five gallons)

3 pounds dried navy beans

2 pounds of ham and a ham bone

1 quart mashed potatoes

5 onions, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

four cloves garlic, chopped

half a bunch of parsley, chopped

Clean the beans, then cook them dry. Add ham, bone and water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and mix thoroughly. Add chopped vegetables and bring to a boil. Simmer for one hour before serving.

http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/bean_soup.htm

 
House of Representatives Bean Soup Story and Recipe

The Congressional Club Cook Book, given to me by a House staffer in 1968, also has a story about the Bean Soup served in the Capitol restaurants:

"Bean Soup has been a featured item on the menu of the House of Representatives since long before that day in 1904 when the then Speaker of the House, Joseph G. Cannon of Illinois, came into the House Restaurant and ordered Bean Soup.

Then, as now, Bean Soup was a hearty, zesty, and filling dish; but it was typically hot and humid in Washington that day, and, therefore, Bean Soup had been omitted from the menu. "Thunderation," roared Speaker Cannon, "I had my mouth set for Bean Soup"; and, he continued, "from now on, hot or cold, rain, snow, or shine, I want it on the menu every day."

And so it has been - Bean Soup on the menu every single day since. For our many friends who over the years continue to ask for the recipe for this famous soup, we print it herewith, just as it has always been made (adapted to family-sized quantity) in the House Restaurant kitchen in the Capitol:

RECIPE FOR BEAN SOUP SERVED IN THE CAPITOL RESTAURANTS

2 lb. No 1 white Michigan beans
Cover with cold water and soak overnight
Drain and re-cover with water
Add a smoked ham hock and SIMMER SLOWLY for about 4 hours until beans are cooked tender. Then add salt and pepper to suit taste.
Just before serving, bruise beans with large spoon or ladle, enough to cloud."

 
I like good recipes, but I love the ones that comes with a story!!! smileys/smile.gif

 
Okay, I can't resist: Isn't there enough...

...hot air in the Senate without priming the pump, so to speak?

I'm trying to picture Hillary with the walkin' f**ts.

Michael

 
It's very good with Tabasco sauce on it too. A restaurant used to make it that way here (Ribs Inn)

-- anyone remember that name from the past?!

Loved their peanut butter cream pie, too, and I miss it. It had peanut butter in the CRUST! not in the rest of it. Just a mild, almost coconut cream-type filling. Someday I'll try to make it myself.

 
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