Black Bean Soup

[Kendra]

Anyone have a good recipe for a flavorful pot of healthy black bean soup?

[butterfly]

The recipe at cubanfoodmarket.com is pretty much identical to that of my SO's Cuban/Tampeño family, though I don't generally add as much olive oil (to the consternation of the aforementioned family). A fresh, as opposed to dried, bay leaf really enhances the flavor, we usually add two or three. We also sometimes add a bit of ground cumin.

I use the Goya brand dried beans, and sometimes cook them in the crockpot.

They are usually served with a bit of diced raw onion, vinegar (red wine or sherry vinegar) and sour cream on the side for people to add. My SO's abuelo adds some chopped up pickles, as well.

Link: http://www.cubanfoodmarket.com/palma/...

[Nab]

i like blending in some salsa too.

this soup is a staple in my student-diet during the winter. quick, easy and dee-lish.

[N Tocus]

If you make black bean soup using dried beans the essential step is mashing or pureeing at least half of the cooked beans---this will give you the consistency you want in the finished soup. It's worth making a big deal of Black Bean Soup. I use my 20-qt. pot and cook 4 lb. dried black beans with a ham bone, two 8 oz. cans tomato sauce, 4 medium onions chopped, a green or sweet red pepper chopped, 6 cloves garlic chopped, 2 tablespoons salt, 2 tablespoons cumin, 3-4 bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon dried flaked hot chili, and water to fill pot a little more than half full. Simmer for three hours adding water to maintain level. Remove ham and bone, discard bone, shred ham meat and set aside. Remove bay leaves. Strain out beans and puree them in Cuisinart then return to soup---you have to do this in several batches. Add ham. Correct seasoning. This will yield many pints of soup to freeze plus a generous quantity for immediate use. Either serve with a glup of sherry added or put a little pitcher of sherry on the table. In Puerto Rico black bean soup is served with little bowls of rice and chopped onion for people to add to their soup. Note: pureeing the beans is an extra mess so as long as you are making this soup make as large a quantity as you can store; it's like putting money in the bank. Not only can you serve it as a thick bean soup, you can serve it to be spooned over rice along with any meat or fish to make a good entree.

[butterfly]

I should also mention that we often cut corners and use the goya brand from the can. In fact we do this at least once or twice a week. We also make tacos out of leftovers--with corn tortillas, black beans, salsa (I like la costena brand in the can), tomatillos, avocado, chopped cilantro, a little salvadorean queso duro grated on top, and a squeeze of lime.

[Barbarito]

I tried making this soup today, using the Goya tinned beans and with even less olive oil than Butterfly recommended. It turned out GREAT and I will be making this a frequent component of my quick and easy repertoire. Thank to Butterfly for the recipe.

By the way, if you're using the tins, I think that two 15-16 oz. ones will more or less equal 1 lb. of dry beans. I also recommend cooking for as long as is convenient to facilitate the flavors blending; I had mine on the stove for about two hours. The cumin, as another poster recommended, is a nice addition.

[Sharuf]

I cook my black beans in a slow-cooker crockpot -- cheap and brainless. 1 lb dried beans plus 7 cups of water yields about 3 lbs cooked beans. Any leftovers can be put into the freezer and used later to make refried beans.

[david in NOLa]

Here's the recipe I use for making beans and broth, which makes a base for a million versions of black bean soup. The resulting broth is delicious. Once the beans are cooked, add a some chopped onion, chopped tomatos, shredded meat, dry pasta, really what ever you like, and simmer for another half hour or so. For thicker soup, remove some or all of the beans, puree them, then return to the pot.

Link: http://www.davidscooking.com/recipes/...

[jill]

two thing i do slightly differently...same result

first, we use a pressure cooker for the beans. usually about a 2:1 ration of water to beans, and about 1 hour at slow rocking pressure.

for flavour, i put oil, onion, garlic, and all the spice i want into a separate frying pan. I sweat the onions in the oil first, then add the garlic and spices and just cook until the garlic starts to color. then I scoop a little of the bean broth into the frying pan, being very careful not to get in the way of the spatter. then i dump the whole thing back into the beans.

i serve raw onions,unsweetened yogurt, and chopped cilantro on the side. yogurt is a good replacement for sour cream!

peace, jill

ps these are great over white rice. and a burrito of these mixed with rice and cheese is heaven on earth!

[Beth Pizio]

I make a recipe for Brazilian black bean soup (don't know if it's really Brazilian or not) which contains orange juice (fresh, preferably) plus hot sauce and is very healthy. I love the combo of spicy and sweet when paired with black beans. I've linked below to a recipe that seems similar to the one I make, although I don't add sherry, I use hot sauce and/or fresh chiles instead of red pepper flakes, and I don't usually bother with chicken stock. It can also be made with canned beans, although then you have to substantially reduce the water.

Link: http://www.recipesource.com/soups/sou...

[Smokey]

This seems very similar to the recipe in the original moosewood. It's one of my favorite recipes from that cookbook, and I share your enthusiasm for it!

Smokey

[Caitlin McGrath]

I don't doubt that your recipe is delicious without sherry, but a shot of dry sherry toward the end of cooking, is an amazing complement to black bean or lentil soup.

[Beth Pizio]

Thanks, Caitlin. I'll give it a try.

[Zorra]

I've always liked the recipe in my favorite cookbook, the Mennonite Central Committee's More-with-Less Cookbook. It's pretty basic. Soak a pound of beans, add 1 cup chopped onion, 1 (or more) minced garlic clove(s), a ham bone (smoked ham hocks if you don't have a ham bone), 2 bay leaves, 2 tsp. salt (after they have cooked for a while) and black pepper to taste. Add chopped green pepper if you like it. Cook slowly for about 3 hours. Dice the ham and return it to the soup. You can add 1/4 cup wine vinegar or 2 T. cider vinegar when it's ready, if you like. It's good with the wine vinegar, but I usually forget, and it's just as good without it. Ladle over rice.
I love black beans and the rich stock that they make. This is a simple recipe, but it's very satisfying.