"Capitol Bean Soup" by The U.S. House of Representatives

The United States Senate and House of Representatives each have an official soup that has been served for over 120 years. One was invented in 1903 (Senate) and the other invented in 1904 (House). Basically, the Senate declared an official Bean Soup and the House reacted by making their own. Here is a direct quote from Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon in 1904, when he arrived in Washington on a humid day and saw that his favorite bean soup wasn’t on the House cafeteria menu:

”Thunderation!” said Cannon, “I had my mouth set for bean soup! From now on, hot or cold, rain or sun, snow or shine, I want it on the menu every day.”

So…get your mouth set.

As always, I followed the recipe word for word directly from The 1976 Congressional Club Cook Book (as well as other editions), with no alterations:

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds of #1 white Michigan beans

1 smoked ham hock

Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Cover beans with cold water and soak overnight.

2) Drain and recover with water. Add the ham hock and simmer slowly for about 4 hours until the beans are cooked tender.

3) Season with salt and pepper as desired.

You’ll be needing a lot of that salt and pepper, in my opinion.

4) Just before serving, bruise beans with a large spoon or ladle to cloud the soup. Makes 6 servings.

There’s a chance of overbruising here, so be careful. Overbruise and you’ll crush the “soup” into “refried beans,” which you only learn by making that mistake, I’ll admit.

Voila! If you want to actually watch me attempt to eat it, go to the CwC Instagram or TikTok. Is this recipe as good as the one from the Senate? Considering that it’s almost exactly the same recipe, minus most of the flavor-giving ingredients (onion, butter, parsley)…well, that’s up to your personal preferences. The color is like a Midwestern white person’s complexion and the texture is more stew than soup — thick and hearty. I didn’t hold back on the salt and pepper and neither should you — you really want to taste that ham water.

Verdict:

This soup is in contention for the title of Most Boring Recipe. It’s only two things: navy beans and ham. That’s it. I truly can’t find anything to say about this except that it wouldn’t evoke a “Thunderation” from me in a thousand years.