Confetti Bean Soup (A Pantry Recipe)

This is the same recipe as for Seven-Bean Soup that I found on a bag of dried mixed beans eons ago.  I'm too lazy to soak dry beans, so I use canned.  I call it confetti bean soup because I use every kind of canned bean I can find in the stores, and so with all the different shapes and colors of the beans, the soup looks kind of like confetti.

We had ham for Easter, and I always freeze some of the leftovers in one-pound portions specifically to use in this soup or Senate Bean Soup.  Most of the other ingredients come straight out of the pantry, so I always have the ingredients on hand.


Confetti Bean Soup

2 T canola oil or butter
1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
12 or 13 15-oz cans beans* (all different kinds), drained and rinsed
2 c water
3 15-oz cans diced tomatoes
2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes with green chilis
2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes with garlic and onion
1 10-oz cans Ro-Tel (Hot)
2 T red pepper flakes
3 T lemon juice
1 or 1 1/2 lb cooked ham, cubed or shredded

In a large (12-quart) stockpot, brown the onion in the oil or butter.  Add the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes. 

*These are the beans I use:  black, dark red kidney, light red kidney, red, pink, pinto, cannellini, garbanzo (chickpeas), black-eyed peas, baby butter, navy, great northern, and lentils.  If you can't find this many kinds of beans, or you don't want to make this much (it's like an ocean of soup!), the proportion of canned tomatoes to beans is 1 to 2, and if there is an odd number of beans, then add another can of tomatoes.  So, in this recipe, there are 13 cans of beans and 7 cans of tomatoes (don't count the Ro-Tel).  If you only have 10 cans of beans, you'll need 5 cans of tomatoes. You choose the varieties.

Senate Bean Soup (A Non-Trendy Comfort Food Recipe)

In the past few months, I've made a lot of soup.  This is my quick and easy version of good old fashioned ham and bean soup, the soup served every day in the U.S. Senate restaurant since 1903.


Senate Bean Soup

1 T butter
1-lb package frozen mirepoix mix (chopped onions, celery, carrots)
1/2 lb ham pieces
3 or 4 15-oz cans navy pea beans, rinsed and drained
1 bay leaf
salt to taste

Saute the mirepoix in butter in the bottom of a stock pot about 3 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and just barely cover with water.  Bring to a boil and simmer about 30 minutes.  Remove bay leaf before serving.


We always eat cornbread with this, with lots of butter!