ISO Black Bean Soup recipe

[Sandyj]

I had a wonderful black bean soup at a Mexican cafe recently and I asked for the recipe. The waiter looked puzzled at first (maybe he thought I was complaining?!), then called the cook. Unfortunately neither the waiter or the cook could speak English well enough for me to understand, although they both kept trying to tell me how easy it is to make.

Their soup was served with a little bit of freshly cut onion on top. It had almost a creamy texture, and didn't have a lot of spice in it, just enough....(I'm new to this sort of food).

Since I discovered I like this soup, I ordered it at a Panero restaurant on Saturday, but theirs had more spice and other ingredients - I actually liked the first one better. It was comfort food!

Does anyone have a great recipe or tips on making this soup to share? -Sandyj

[Barbara L]

Hopefully someone will have a tried and true recipe for you soon. I don't have one, but when I did a search, I found quite a few. You might want to do a search and see if any of the recipes sound like the one you liked.

Barbara

[jkath]

[Sandyj]

Barbara, I did attempt a search on bb soup from the search function in DC, but I seemed to find a lot of bean recipes or soup recipes, but nothing specific. I have found what looks to be a good recipe in my "The New Best Recipe" cook book. I would still love to see a recipe from one of the dc members! -Sandyj

[Alix]

Oops! I missed this one! Here is my recipe for you.

Soak: 1 lb black beans overnight

Saute: (In your dutch oven or other LARGE pot) 1 diced onion, 1 chopped carrot, 1 chopped celery stalk and 5 strips of diced bacon. Usually about 5-10 minutes.

Add: 3 cloves crushed garlic, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cayenne, 2 bay leaves.

Drain beans and add to mixture.

Add: 3 liters chicken stock, 1 cup chili sauce. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer for 3-4 hours. Add 3/4 c sherry (or red wine with a couple tablespoonfuls of sugar added) and then put through the food processor.

Add more chicken stock as needed to keep soup from becoming too thick.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream on each bowlful.

[Robo410]

I agree this is real comfort food.

THe New Joy of Cooking has great recipes, and I've made their Cuban Black Bean soup.

1lb dried black beans, rinsed and soaked

sweat in 2 tblspn oil 2 med onions chopped, 3 med celery stalks diced, 4 cloves garlic minced, your choice of hot pepper seeded and minced (scotch bonnet, jalapeno, serano, etc.) or for very mild taste just go with green chilis, full of flavor but no heat.

drain and add the beans with 11 cups water and a large ham hock. (you can substitute broth for some of the water, and any smoked pork or turkey item for the ham hock.)

bring to boil, reduce and simmer about 2 hours.

remove meat and bones (dice or shred meat and reserve) Puree the beans in a food processor or using an immersion blender. return to pot with meat.

add, 1/4 to 1/2 cup dry sherry (optional) bring to simmer, taste for seasonings, adjust with salt, pepper, hot sauce or choice, fresh lemmon juice

serve: garnish with lemmon, chopped onion, chopped scallions, sour cream, rice, chopped hard boiled egg, cilantro or other parsley.

and from this basic recipe, you can adapt it to make it all your own.

I love beans and I make this comfort food all the time.

[Sandyj]

Thanks jkath and robo410 - both recipes look interesting and I'll give them a go. Thank goodness the weather has cooled off and is supposed to be lovely this week-end. I'm going to probably make the soup this Saturday. Wish me luck! -Sandyj

[Andy M.]

Black Bean Soup

1 Lb Dry Black Beans
1/2 Oz Chipotle Peppers
2 Tb Olive Oil
1/4 Lb Pancetta
1 Carrot
1 Celery Stalk
1 Onion
4 Garlic Cloves
8 C Chicken Stock
2 Tb Tomato Paste
1 or 2 Smoked Pork Hocks or
1 Ham Bone from baked ham
Black Pepper
8 Oz Anduille Sausage
1 tsp Cumin
Sour Cream
Scallion

Wash and clean the beans and prepare for cooking according to package directions.

Soak the chipotle peppers in hot water for 30 minutes then cut open and remove the pith and seeds. Dice.

Dice the pancetta, carrots, celery, onions and garlic.

In a 7 1/2-8 Qt. sauce pan, sauté the pancetta in the oil until the fat is rendered and the lean is golden. Add the diced vegetables and sauté slowly.

Add the stock, paste, hocks, black pepper, beans, chipotle peppers and cumin and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When a bean can be easily smashed between two fingers, cooking is done. Remove the hocks. Puree part of the cooked mixture in a blender to thicken the soup.

Add the sausage and cook until heated through.

Serve with a garnish of sour cream and chopped scallions.

Note: The Pancetta can be omitted, using only oil in its place. If necessary, you may substitute a small can of green chili peppers in place of the Chipotle. Use any smoked sausage in place of the Anduille.

The liquid level in the pot will be high enough to completely submerge the ham bone during cooking. If this is not possible, the bone should be turned several times during the cooking time.