Dried beans also generally require soaking to soften them up before cooking. The long cooking time they demand lets the ham hock’s smoky flavor permeate everything. They’re quick and convenient and, for most recipes, work just fine. More often than not, we use canned beans at Blue Kitchen. You can substitute great northern beans, but the Senate kitchen uses navy beans. I wanted to keep it steadfastly old school. I didn’t want to do a modern homage to the soup. I stayed closer to tradition, adding only some aromatics-carrots, celery and garlic-and bay leaves. Others get overly busy, I think, with multiple herbs and spices and even wine. Some include mashed potatoes (and some even substitute instant mashed potato flakes). The first recipe on the Senate site is among the most stripped down, using only beans, ham hocks, butter, an onion, salt, pepper and water (the Saveur recipe sticks with this basic version too). This is elemental comfort food that speaks to something written deep in our genetic code. Frommer’s goes so far as to say, “The Senate Bean Soup may be famous, but it’s tasteless goo.” I disagree.
CHICAGO BEAN SHRIVELED WINDOWS
It is the homey, homely, sturdy soup of our childhood, cooked for hours on a wintry day, steaming kitchen windows and filling the house with the smoky fragrance of ham hocks. Whoever started the tradition, bean soup has been served daily in the Senate Dining Room since about 1903. Minnesota Senator Knute Nelson’s recipe does not. The recipe attributed to Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho contains mashed potatoes (I know you’re as surprised as I am). Even the official United States Senate website has two takes on it, to match the two most popular stories of which senator requested the bean soup be added to the dining room’s menu. 16, the decidedly American, stubbornly old-fashioned Senate Bean Soup (on the same page, I might add, with Sambar, a South Indian onion stew that also sounds remarkable).Īs with most classic recipes, there are countless versions out there. So admittedly, it’s more than a little ironic that the first recipe of the 101 I chose to explore was No. To me, it reflects the way the United States, more than any other country, has embraced the food and kitchen culture and traditions of the world. A single page in the magazine features Pepper Pot, a Philadelphia staple with Caribbean roots Chile Verde, the lively New Mexican pork shoulder and tomatillo stew and the hearty Polish pork and sauerkraut stew, Bigos. Hoary culinary warhorses like Caesar Salad and New England Clam Chowder share space with Canh Chua Cá, a Vietnamese sour fish soup, and Djaj Mqualli, a Moroccan tagine of chicken, olives and lemon. And I particularly love the magazine’s wonderfully inclusive view of classic recipes. But I love that this 150th “Special Collector’s Issue” is all about the food. I’m fascinated by most things food related. Just a short piece up front by the editor-in-chief celebrating Saveur’s 150th issue and a classic food-related photo of Lucille Ball on the last page, with the aforementioned recipes sandwiched in between. No restaurant showcases, no travel features, no chef profiles or kitchen gadget reviews. The October issue of Saveur magazine, however, lives up to the hype.Īs the cover promises, it contains 101 classic recipes-and not much else. S pecial Collector’s Issue is a term often used-and abused-by magazine marketers to boost newsstand sales. Served daily in the United States Senate Dining Room since the early 1900s, Senate Bean Soup is a soul satisfying, stubbornly old school dish.
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