Senate Bean Soup

Total Time: 1 hr 55 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb dry navy beans, rinsed and picked over
• 10 cups water, divided
• 1 (6 ounce) ham hocks
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon pepper (to taste)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large celery ribs, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Recipe

• 1 in a large pot or dutch oven, soak beans overnight in 6 cups of water (or bring to a boil, boil 3 minutes, remove from heat, and let stand, covered, for 1 hour).
• 2 add remaining 4 cups of water, the ham hock, bay leaf, and pepper; bring to a boil.
• 3 reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/4 hours or until beans are almost tender.
• 4 stir in remaining ingredients; cover; cook 20-30 minutes more or until beans are tender.
• 5 discard bay leaf before serving soup.