Instructions: * Note: Chicken-flavored soup base is a concentrated flavoring. Different brands vary in flavor and in salt content. Saint Louis Club uses Minors brand, with no monosodium glutamate (MSG).

The recipe was tested with good results with chicken-flavored Better Than Bouillon, a brand of soup base found at a Dierbergs store in the soup aisle near the bouillons.

Soak beans in cold water overnight, filling pot with water to about 3 inches above beans.

Drain beans; set aside.

To sweat vegetables: Melt butter in a heavy stockpot. Add onion and carrots. Place a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper over vegetables, then cover pot with lid. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are soft, about 5 to 8 minutes. Do not brown. Discard foil or parchment.

Stir in chicken stock and chicken base. Add ham hock. Cook until ham hock is tender, about 30 minutes.

Add beans; cook until tender, about 30 to 45 minutes more.

Remove ham hock. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bone, dice and add to beans. Stir in diced ham and ground cumin.

If soup is too thin, crush some beans in the pot or remove some beans and puree, adding them back to the soup. If soup is too thick, add more chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe yields 6 generous servings.

Comments: This soup has been a longtime menu item at the Saint Louis Club, a private dining club at 7701 Forsyth Boulevard. Pierre Chambrin, executive chef, says it was already a favorite when he arrived at the club in 1994 after serving as White House chef under President George Bush. The club serves the soup with a garnish of red onions soaked in red wine vinegar served on the side.

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