Senate Bean Soup

By Dottiejk

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried navy beans; picked over
• 1 pound ham - preferably with bone
• 1 large russet potato; peeled, quartered
• kosher salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 large onion; chopped
• 1 stalk celery
• 2 cloves garlic; chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley; chopped
• freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Put the beans in a large bowl and cover with about 3 times their volume of
cold water. Soak overnight in a cool place.

Drain the beans and transfer to a large pot or Dutch oven. Add 10 cups
water and the ham. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat
to low and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
Transfer theham to a plate to cool slightly, then remove the bone, if used,
and dice the meat. Return the meat to the pot.

Meanwhile, cover the potato with water in a saucepan and season with salt.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer
until the potato is fork tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain the potato;
transfer to a bowl with the milk and mash with a potato masher or for,
until smooth. Add the mashed potato to the bean soup and stir until
combined.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic,
celery and parsley and cook until the vegetables are translucent, 7 to 10
minutes. Add the vegetable mixture to the soup, reduce the heat to low and
cook 1 hour, adding up to 2 more cups water if the soup is too thick.
Season with salt and pepper.