Senate Bean Soup

When I worked in Barratt O'Hara's office on Capitol Hill in the '60s, he would ask us to bring him a carryout bowl of this soup almost every day. Well folks, the guy was the oldest congressman in the House...in his 80s...and I gotta say this stuff must have been a factor in his longevity (in addition to the "martunis" he drank every night). This is good using either smoked ham hocks or a leftover holiday ham bone. If you want to be really extravagant you can buy a ham bone from Honeybaked. They have a ton of meat on them, but don't come cheap. Make this and freeze it for sustenance on a cold winter evening.

U.S. Senate Navy Bean Soup
(serves 5 to 6)

1 lb. dried navy or Great Northern beans, rinsed and picked over
1 meaty ham bone or 2 smoked ham hocks
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
2 C chopped onion
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 C tomato sauce
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Soak beans in water to cover for 4 hrs. or overnight. Drain into a colander.

In a large soup pot, bring 10 cups of water to a boil. Add soaked beans, ham bone and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until the beans are almost tender, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Remove as much meat as possible from the bone, cut into small pieces and return meat to the pot. Discard bone. Add the salt.

Add the chopped vegetables and cook at a gentle simmer until they are tender, about 30-40 minutes.

Add the tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.

In a food processor or blender, process half the soup, pulsing to make a coarse-textured puree. Return to the pot, and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Can be made 3 days ahead and refrigerated or frozen. Tastes even better the second or third day!