I’ve a pot of bean soup simmering aggressively* on the stove. I had saved a meaty ham bone from something in the freezer and decided today would be a good day to make soup. Those are the two hardest things about the recipe. Buy a bag of beans, dry beans are really cheap. I use great northern beans instead of navy beans. I’m not sure why, it just seems right. Throw the beans in a pot, cover with water and put the pot in fridge before you go to bed.
Next morning, drain the beans, put them in a pot with the ham bone, 3-4 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Then simmer aggressively (*I don’t know what that means exactly, but the gas on the stove is about as low as it will go and the water still seems like it’s boiling) for about 90 minutes. Later, I’ll chop some 3-4 ribs of celery, chop a big onion. I’ll peel a good sized baking potato and cut into chunks about 1/2 inch each. and dump it all into the soup. Add some salt and pepper at this point, but remember you can always add more later so don’t overdo it. I know you: Mister “All the best chefs are men.” It might be true, but this isn’t your famous eye-watering chili. Easy on the salt and pepper. Let it simmer for another hour or so.
I don’t know whether it’s the beans or the potato, but the soup gets thick. People always are surprised when you tell them there’s no chicken stock, just water. Take the bone out to cool, strip and chop any meat left on the bone, return the meat to the pot. It’s ready. Grab a loaf of that crusty bread, have a salad to make your girlfriend happy and remember, in Wisconsin, soup is not a course, it’s the meal.
Since this is a bean soup, it’s arguably better the next day. I’m one of those who will say that. My recipe is mostly based on a recipe for U. S. Senate bean soup.
