Black Bean Soup

28Nov07

Here are a couple alternatives.

The original recipes (from the new Moosewood Cookbook)
2cups dry beans, soaked
4cups water
1Tbs. olive oil
3cups chopped onion
10 medium cloves of garlic
2tsp. cumin
2tsp. salt
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1.5cups orange juice
black pepper to taste
cayenne to taste
optional: 2 medium tomatoes, diced

Place the beans in a Dutch oven with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until simmer (about an hour and a quarter).
Heat olive oil in a medium size skillet. Saute onions and half of the garlic. Add carrots and a small amount of water and let that cook until the carrots are tender. Add bell pepper, cumin, salt and the rest of the garlic. Saute until everything is tender and add this vegetable mixture to the beans.
Stir in orange juice, black pepper, cayenne and tomatoes. Puree some or all of the soup in a blender or food processor. Continue to simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes more. Serve with a dallop of sour cream, fresh cilantro and a bit of salsa.

The easy way (modified from the same recipe)
Replace the dry black beans with 2 cans of black beans (check for the lowest sodium you can find!). Saute the vegetables as directed above, but in a large stock pot. When the vegetables are tender, add in the 2 cans of beans (liquid included) plus about 1.5 cups of vegetable or chicken stock. Add in orange juice, and a can of diced petite tomatoes (liquid included). Continue to cook as described in the above recipe.

For a nice touch, I like to add in about 2in. of ginger which I cook the same as the garlic – half alongside the onions and half with the bell peppers.

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