Senate Bean Soup

Directions

Soak beans overnight. Combine beans, soaking liquid, stock, hock, and cook for 1 hour.

Sweat the onions, carrots, and celery for 4 or 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic until you can smell the aroma.

Add the beans, stock mixture, and hock to the vegetables.

Add the onion pique and potatoes and simmer until the beans and potato are tender.

Remove the onion pique and ham hock.

Dice ham and reserve.

Purée half the soup. Recombine the purée and reserved ham with the soup.

Adjust the seasoning with tabasco and with salt and pepper.