Senate Bean Soup

...I had some white beans I needed to use up. Got online and looked up recipes, as you do, and that famous ol' Senate Bean Soup recipe came up again.

 

As I recently discovered the trick of using facon in pressure cooker bean recipes calling for ham or bacon, I thought, "What the hell. Let's try it and see what happens."

 

This soup is really good considering how terribly simple it is. There are versions calling for garlic, mashed potatoes, parsley, and more, but I went with the simplest version.

 

Senate Bean Soup

the vegetarian pressure cooker version

 

1-1/2 c. navy beans, picked through

4 c. water

1 tsp. salt

2 or 3 Morningstar Farms breakfast strips (or, I suppose, if you have it, some smoke flavoring would work instead)

 

Place in pressure cooker and cook at high pressure for 35 minutes. Quick release. Fish out the facon strips and throw them away.

 

In a sauce pan, sautee until soft and translucent:

 

1/2 medium white onion, diced

2 Tbsp. butter

 

Pour the onions and butter into the soup. Add:

 

1/2 tsp. thyme

black pepper to taste

 

Stir and serve!

 

Done