Black Bean Bonanza

Hey y'all,

Busy times equals less time to cook and if I'm not cooking, I guarantee you I have nothing to offer you of any value.  But this week, I made soup...lots of soup...black bean soup.  It was an experiment and there were some scary moments, but in the end 5 out of 5 soup eaters agreed it was yummy....or at least edible.

I'll give you the recipe and you can tell me if you love it, if it sucks or if you're neutral.  Though, frankly, I'd be shocked by a neutral soup eater.

Anywoooooo.....

Black Bean Soup
6 cans Reduced Sodium Black Beans
48 oz Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
1 head Garlic (diced)
1 White Onion (diced)
2 Roma Tomatoes (diced)
2 Jalapenos (de-seeded and diced)
Juice of one lime
2 TSP Cilantro (finely chopped)
2 TSP Cumin
1 TSP Paprika
1/4 TSP Cinnamon
Sea Salt & Black Pepper (to taste)
Additional Limes (wedged for garnish)
Cotija Cheese (crumbled for garnish)

I split this recipe into two phases and I call Day 1:

Bean Broth Day (aka the f**k up that almost was)

I'm proud that I attempted a recipe armed with only my experience and spice cabinet, so I'm comfortable sharing that I almost ruined black bean soup forever.  Here's how...

I decided to do some blending, but I added WAY TOO MUCH broth and hit the wrong button on my blender.  The result....was bean broth.  It looked gross.  I was very scared for a while, but I powered through and I think we're all going to be okay.  Let me start from the beginning.

Take two of the cans of black beans, drain & rinse.  Combine in blender or food processor (my recipe was created in a blender) with one additional can of black beans (drained only) and chicken broth.  Slowly & lowly blend beans and broth together.  This makes bean broth.  While that sits, saute your diced onion & garlic in a stock pot until onion is clear (careful not to brown either).  When the onion & garlic are happily sauteed, please add the bean broth, your remaining three cans of black beans and spices.  Cook on low heat until boiling then lower heat and let simmer for approximately 2 hours.

This completes phase I of Black Bean Soup.  I covered phase one and let it chill overnight.  This was a great idea (accidentally).  The soup thickened into a much nicer consistency and the spice flavors really set in.

Finishing Touches (aka the Soup Also Rises)

Remove your safely covered soup from the fridge and let it sit while you prep the remaining ingredients.  While it sits, dice two tomatoes, chop up your fresh cilantro, slice a lime and de-seed and dice two jalapenos.  Add the juice of one lime, plus the brand new diced stuff to the pot and heat on low heat for 45 minutes to an hour.  Add more salt, pepper, cumin, etc as you see fit.  My advice, however, is use the salt sparingly.  I've had really bad black bean soup in the past and the culprit was too much salt.

Spoon this dark, steamy goodness into bowls.  Give a squeeze to a fresh lime wedge and add a little cheese to it.  I used Cotija cheese, which is similar in texture & taste to feta (white, crumbly, slightly salty), you may want to use something more melty for your soup and I won't judge you.  I believe in a human's right to choose their cheese.

The finished bowl looked like this:

I liked this recipe but I think it could be better.  I should have used much less chicken broth - probably two 14 oz cans. It would have been thicker and less work and the spices would have popped more.  This, I will try during round 2.

I would love to hear from any soup experts out there as I'm fairly new to the arena.  I will say, this recipe was healthy and filling and I bought ALL ingredients for less than $20 and was able to freeze a batch for later stuffing.  All in all, I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10.

So, try it, make it better and tell me how you did it.

Peace and beans,

Mel