Recipe - Boston Bean Salad

2 cup Dried black beans
2 qt Water
1 tablespoon Salt
1 tablespoon Butter
2 tablespoon Flour
One half tablespoon Minced yellow onion
1/8 teaspoon Black pepper
1/8 teaspoon Dry mustard
1 cup Whipping cream
6 sl Lemon; thin
6 Whole cloves
1 Egg; hardboiled & cut or sliced up ,
for garnish
One half cup Dry sherry (optional)

This soup has been popular in Boston for many generations. The colonists
grew many kinds of beans for drying. This is the only way you could get
through the New England winter. I think this soup could help you get
through any difficulty.

Soak the beans overnight in ample water. Drain. Place in a 4quart soup
pot and add the 2 quarts water and salt. Cook until soft, about 2 hours,
covered. Pur‚e mixture in a food processor, using the beans and a little of
the water. Return the bean pur‚e and all of the water to the pot and simmer
15 minutes.

In a small saucepan melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook for a
moment and add the onion, pepper, and mustard. Stir in the cream and
simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened. Add this to
the bean pur‚e. Heat all just to the boiling point, being careful not to
scorch the soup.

Serve in shallow bowls with a slice of lemon, a clove, and a slice of
hardboiled egg in each bowl. I also like to add a bit of dry sherry to the
pot before dishing up the soup.

TIME INCLUDES SOAKING OVERNIGHT

From The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe
Archive, http://www.erols.com/hosey.