I used to be able to find this soup in groovy markets here in LA. I assume from the name that it is the navy bean soup made near Capitol Hill by a restaurant called Dominique’s.
Does anyone know anything about it? The soup, the restaurant, anything? I LOVE this soup!
Please help me if you can…
Sure. I’ve eaten the soup at Dominique’s. It is a French restaurant in D.C. We had a wonderful meal, and I think that it was probably the most expensive restaurant I have ever eaten at.
I think I have a book with more info. I will check and get back to you.
I don’t think Dominique’s Restaurant exists anymore.
From Jean Anderson, The American Century Cookbook, (New York: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 1997) 54.
Apparently, the soup has been a mainstay at the House and Senate restaurants since 1907. The book doesn’t say anything about Dominique’s though. Maybe Dominique copied the recipe. (There is a recipe in the book, too, if you are interested. I don’t necessarily want to post it–copyright violation?)
Here is some information about Dominique’s: http://yp.washingtonpost.com/E/V/WASDC/0047/76/01/cs1.html
Doesn’t say a thing about the soup, unfortunately.
Wendell–According to the webpage, it has re-opened after 5 years.
I would like any info you have, most especially including the RECIPE!
And interestingly…recipes cannot be copyrighted. 
But if you’d rather, you can send it to me at my email address: stoid@pacbell.net.
1.5 lbs. dried navy or pea beans, washed and sorted.
4 quarts hot water
.75 to 1 lb. smoked ham hocks
1 extra-large yellow onion, chopped
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp salt
.5 tsp black pepper
Place beans in colander and let hot tap water run over them for one minute.
Dump beans into heavy kettle, add hot water and ham hocks, and bring to boiling. Adjust heat so water barely bubbles, cover, and simmer very slowly until beans are mushy and meat falls from bones–2.5 to 3 hours. Check and stir beans from time to time and if needed to keep water from boiling, slide flame-tamer under the kettle.
Remove ham from bones and cut into bite-size pieces: discard bones. With potato masher, thoroughly mash beans in kettle–soup should be lumpy. Return ham to kettle. If soup seems thin, boil, uncovered, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes to thicken slightly.
Saute onion in large heavy skillet in butter over moderate heat, stirring often until rickly browned–8-10 minutes.
Let us know how it turns out.
Thank you for sharing the recipe, Green Bean!
Stoi: Senate Bean Soup is a) incredibly famous and b) a pretty basic bean soup recipe. I’ve seen recipes for it in lots and lots of cookbooks, including THE JOY OF COOKING. And I’ve generally noticed that, aside from mashing the beans, it’s not too different from most other ham-based bean soup recipes. GB’s differs in that the onions are added toward the end of cooking.
Looking at that recipe with a critical eye, I would alter two things:
I’d soak the beans in cold water overnight. This was something your Grandma always did with even thinking about it, and now there’s a brouhaha in foodie circles about whether or not soaking is necessary, but it really does make them cook uniformly and is supposed to lessen intestinal gas attacks. In any case, the old ways is the best ways, sez I.
I would “cook the onion in butter until richly browned” at the OUTSET rather than at the end. For that matter, I might even add a little chopped leek and celery and carrot at the same time. When they were ready, I’d put in the hamhocks and beans and water, and proceed to simmer 2-3 hours until done.
And I’d make it the day before I was going to serve it…soups always benefit from an overnight in the fridge.
Nice sounding recipe, but it isn’t the one that Dominiques was canning. I had the last can just a week or two ago and I actually looked at the ingredients. For one thing, there was no ham, the beans were whole, and the first ingredient listed was chicken broth.
But that does look like a tasty recipe. And I’m assuming that the first ingredient is a HALF POUND of beans? or is it one and a half pounds?
Thanks!
stoid
Specifically, to be the “true” soup served at congress, you must use Michigan Navy beans (grown near Saginaw, I believe). (Some poor congressional cook found a supply from another source a few years ago and incurred the wrath of several Michigan congressmen.)
(Order your soup from Dominique’s, here: Dominique’s at Foodlocker.com just $19.95 per six-pack)
The Famous Senate Restaurant Bean Soup
In other news, Dominique’s, closed for five years, re-opened next to the Kennedy Performing Arts Center this past May:
Dominique’s makes an encore appearance