Navy Bean Soup from Brother Oliver's restaurant, Sacramento, CA

Navy Bean Soup

from Brother Oliver’s restaurant, Sacramento, CA

1/4 pound bacon, medium dice (one-half inch squares)
1/4 pound onions, medium dice
1/4 pound carrots, medium dice
1/4 pound celery, medium dice
1 pound dried navy beans
2 teaspoons dried granulated garlic
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ham base
1/4 cup chicken base
2 cups diced tomatoes
3 quarts water

Combine all ingredients in a 6-qt pot.
Bring to a boil on high heat, then
reduce heat and allow to simmer 2 hours.

Makes 1 gallon.

Source: Modesto Bee newspaper, March 23, 1988

Well, I just added navy beans & ham soup base to my next shopping list.
I love soups, and this looks really great.

Hope ya’ won’t mind if I add a tip;
When dealing with dried beans, some beans get drier than others. Not only from brand to brand, but sometimes within the same package. Which means some take longer too soften than others.
I would suggest soaking the dried navy beans in water for 4 hrs. prior.
This won’t soften them completely, but will begin the softening. Sometimes 2 hrs. of boiling won’t ensure all the beans to be soft, but using this method will.

Gosh, now I’m hungry…

I can’t really detect the difference between dried beans and canned. I use to go through all the trouble of cooking dried beans but now I just use canned. The hour or two of gas or electricity you save probably makes up the price difference.