Soup Beans

“Soup Beans” is one of my favorite meals on the planet. We traditionally serve ours with cornbread, fresh onion, butter, and some form of fresh greens! Since Spring is in full bloom here in Appalachia “Tangled Root” gets to be our “greens”! These sweet pink flowers are also know as “Spring Beauty”.

Ingredients

1 lb navy beans

4 cups of water

2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable) + more if needed

1 1/2 tbs saged chicken seasoning

1 bay leaf

1/2 stick butter 

Method

Begin by sorting through your beans making sure to discard any that are blemished. Rinse the beans thoroughly in a colander. Once clean transfer the beans to a large bowl. Add enough water to the bowl to cover an inch over the top of the beans. Allow to soak 6 hours. Once beans have soaked rinse them again thoroughly in a colander. Transfer the beans to a large pot. Add the water, stock, chicken seasoning, and bay leaf. Bring beans to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. In a small pot on the back of the stove add some stock. Heat the stock on low. You will need warm stock to add to the beans if they get too thick. Adding cold liquids will cause their skins to come off. Allow the beans to simmer until they become tender and stock has reached desired thickness. This is around 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Add 1/2 stick of butter before serving and allow to melt and fully incorporate.  Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!