Beans and Ham go naturally together in any soup or stew. Using dried navy beans in Congressional Navy Bean Soup give it a nice smooth and hearty texture and the ham adds that great smoky flavor that we look for in bean soups of any kind. My Grandma made the best navy bean soup ever and she always used dried navy beans in her soup. I’ve tried to duplicate her recipe but was always too lazy or scared to try the dried navy beans. Well, as you can guess, I could never quite get the recipe right. Only after I used dried beans did I come even close to her soup. It’s not perfect, and never will be, compared to Grandma’s. But, it’s a delicious attempt!