Senate Bean Soup -- The Soup That Asks You to Pay Attention

February. I have been making a lot of soups this month because February in Birmingham is gray and cold and soup is what February deserves. I have a rotation: chicken noodle one week, lentil the next, minestrone the week after. The lentil soup has become particularly good. I add a parmesan rind to the pot while it simmers and it gives the broth a depth that is hard to explain but unmistakable in the finished product. Priya asked about the rind and I showed her and now she saves her parmesan rinds in the freezer. Knowledge passes the same way in kitchens as everywhere else: one person shows you a thing and you start doing it and then you show someone else.

At the research lab I have started recognizing patterns in the coded videos, things I am noting informally to Dr. Ochoa. The securely attached children in the footage are not just more verbal but more exploratory. They move farther from their caregiver, try more new things, recover from minor upsets faster. I can see the attachment in the movement. I wrote a note to Dr. Ochoa about this and she sent back: this is exactly the kind of observation we are looking for. Can you write it up formally?

On Sunday I drove to Prattville and Gloria made pot roast and I brought lemon pound cake, which I had made Saturday and which turned out particularly well: dense and lemony and bright, the glaze cracking slightly on top the way it should. James said: you are becoming a very serious cook. I said I am becoming a serious person. He said: that too. Yes. That too.

The lentil soup has been my February anchor, but this Senate Bean Soup runs on the same logic—the kind of soup that takes time and gives back more than you put in, where a humble pot of beans becomes something you’d serve to anyone without apology. I made it the same week Dr. Ochoa asked me to write up my observations formally, and there was something right about that: sitting with a long-simmering pot, noticing what was changing in the broth, writing things down. This is the recipe I reach for when I want a soup that asks you to pay attention.

Senate Bean Soup

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 min | Total Time: 2 hrs 50 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried navy beans, rinsed and sorted
• 8 cups water, plus more for soaking
• 1 smoked ham hock (about 1 lb)
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 3 stalks celery, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup mashed potatoes (prepared, or 1 medium russet potato, boiled and mashed)
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving

Instructions

1. Soak the beans. Place navy beans in a large bowl, cover with cold water by 3 inches, and soak overnight. Drain and rinse before using. For a quick soak, bring beans and water to a boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat, and let stand 1 hour before draining.
2. Simmer the ham hock. In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, combine the soaked beans, ham hock, and 8 cups of fresh water. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming any foam that rises. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes, until beans are tender.
3. Sauté the aromatics. About 20 minutes before the beans are done, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Set aside.
4. Remove and shred the ham. Lift the ham hock out of the pot. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bone, discarding the skin and bone. Shred the meat into bite-sized pieces and return it to the pot.
5. Add the potatoes and aromatics. Stir the sautéed vegetables and mashed potatoes into the soup. The potato will thicken the broth and give it a silky body. Stir well to combine.
6. Season and finish. Add celery seed, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Simmer uncovered for an additional 20 to 30 minutes until the broth has thickened to your liking.
7. Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh parsley. Serve with crusty bread or cornbread alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 19g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 39g | Fiber: 10g | Sodium: 520mg