Drain beans, rinse and set aside.
Heat the pot and olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and celery. Season with a couple pinches of salt and pepper and cook until translucent (five minutes). Avoid over-salting if your stock has a high salt content.
Add garlic and stir periodically to avoid burning the ingredients. A light browning is fine, just turn down heat a little if this happens (five minutes).
Drain the potatoes, then add potatoes, celery leaves, beans, and stock to the pot. Turn heat on high and bring to bowl then reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until the potato is tender enough to mash (10 minutes).
Using a masher (a ladle or large spoon will do in a pinch), break up potato pieces. Some beans won’t make it through this process and that’s ok. This will add a creamy texture to the soup.
Simmer for 15 more minutes or until the stock has reduced to your liking.
Serve with your favorite bread, crusty or corn.
Our version is a vegan-take on the soup served to your senators. But, you might ask, don’t you lose all the savory flavor if you take out the ham hocks? Short answer, no! You don’t have to sacrifice flavor to go vegan. With a little bit of love and the right ingredients, anything is possible! For the savory flavor in this recipe dice up a handful of celery leaves. Celery leaves are packed full of nutrients like potassium and vitamin C and make the soup super flavorful.
While the traditional soup calls for dry beans, we sometimes use canned beans to make the cooking process quicker. It doesn’t matter much but definitely soak your beans overnight if you plan to use dried beans. Make sure to mash the potatoes during the cooking process, this will give the soup a creamy consistency. Serve this soup with your favorite french bread or cornbread, and enjoy a filling meal in about 45 minutes.