Another Black Bean Soup
Every time I cook up a pot of black beans, I always double it so half can become Another Black Bean Soup! Even though it’s summer, the chill in the evening air pulls me here and I love a nourishing bowl of soup year round. As always, add garlic if you like, and adjust seasonings to suit your taste or with what you have on hand. It’s hard to go wrong! I topped it here with a fresh avocado tomato salsa (avocado, tomato, cilantro, jalapeño, lime). Use what you love.
Tip- When we grill, I like to toss poblano and red peppers on to roast them, and keep them stored in the fridge for later use in soups, salsas, salads...).
How to soup:
1 heaping cup dried black beans (canned beans fine as well)
2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 small carrot, finely diced
1 poblano pepper, roasted and chopped
1 tsp tomato paste
1/2+ tsp cumin
1/2+ tsp oregano
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Small pinch cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne
Splash of sherry vinegar and/or juice of 1/2 lime
A few cups of vegetable stock or water (if using water, you may want to increase spices a bit)
Coarse kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper.
Cover dried beans with about 3” water and bring to a rapid boil and allow to go until about half the water is gone about 5 minutes. Remove from heat allow to cool a bit and drain.
Preheat a heavy bottomed deep sauce pan over medium heat, add oil, onion and a pinch of salt and cook over low heat, about 20-30 mins to caramelize (if not burning, it can go even longer to bring out the sugars), add celery and carrot until sweaty. Add beans and cover with water by about 2”, raise heat and bring to a boil and reduce to a steady simmer. Cook until beans are tender stirring occasionally to keep bottom from sticking. If you’ve added canned beans, skip ahead to (*). If you need to add more liquid as they cook, make sure to use boiling water to keep the temperature consistent. Time will vary. A lot of the water will evaporate leaving you with a thick pot liquor. (*)Raise heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Add about 3 cups of vegetable stock, bring to a simmer, lower heat, cover and allow to cook for about 30 minutes.
You may purée until velvety or not at all. I like going halfway so It has some texture. Be careful when pureeing hot ingredients. If you prefer a thicker soup, continue to simmer uncovered. For a thinner soup, add more veg stock. Adjust seasonings and serve with your favorite garnish. Here, I served a fresh avocado tomato salsa. My kids love to drag chips through it. Leftovers make a great dip, taco filler and nacho topper and freeze beautifully.
