Black Bean Soup

With fresh cornbread and some garnishes, a meal in under an hour.

Makes approximately 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, diced into 1/4” pieces
• 2 stalks celery, diced into 1/4” pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 tsp dried cumin
• 1 tsp dried coriander
• 3 c cooking liquid from the beans—you can add water, broth or stock as needed
• 3 c cooked black beans (see Basic Beans)
• salt/pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a 2-qt pot.
2. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and turn the heat to low. Cover and “sweat” the vegetables without browning them until just softened, approximately 10 m.
3. Turn the heat up to medium, add the garlic, cumin, and coriander, and stir gently for 1 m.
4. Add the cooking liquid and the beans, and bring to a boil over high heat.
5. Immediately reduce heat to low and barely simmer for 20 m, or until the vegetables are completely tender.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Garnishes:

• diced avocado
• sour cream or yogurt
• coarsely chopped cilantro
• diced red onion
• chopped jalapeño or serrano chili
• roasted bell peppers, diced or cut into strips
• grilled or roasted vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, squash…) cut into cubes
• cooked rice

Variations:

• If you prefer a thicker soup, you can either purée some or all of the cooked beans before adding them or you can puree some or all of the soup once cooked and slightly cooled.
• Make it vegan: use water or vegetable broth for the liquid.
• Spice it up: canned or dried chipotle chilies are a delicious addition to this soup—the canned type can be added to the beans you purée; the dried type should be added in step 3 and either removed or puréed before serving. Alternatively, you can add red (cayenne) pepper to taste.

Do ahead:

The soup can be made ahead, then cooled to room temperature and refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to a week. If you want to freeze it, cool to room temperature, refrigerate overnight, then freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight, then reheat gently over low heat.

Download Black Bean Soup