Winter Hiatus Recipe! Quick & Easy Black Bean Soup

Hi everyone. In honor of the Super Bowl and, more importantly, the fact that I am busy furnishing  our new second home in La Quinta, CA, we will be taking a few weeks off from posting on Cooking with Larue. Don't worry....we will be back soon with more sumptuous recipes!!!!!

Larue

Quick & Easy Black Bean Soup

Serves 4-6

Quick & Easy Black Bean Soup

Were you ever making a Southwestern or Mexican dinner and just needed one more thing to complete the meal….but had no time to pull something new and complex?  It seems to happen to me all too often.  I do love the complex layering of flavors associated with a great mole or even the simple vegetables and proteins thrown together for an amazing taco.  But I always seem to need one more thing. This quick and easy black bean soup is your answer. Everyone loves it. It freezes beautifully and truly comes together in under 30 minutes. With use of a food processor, you can pull it off even faster…really!  It will become your go-to warm quick soups.

• ¼ C olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1-14 ½ oz can ready-cut tomatoes
• 1-4 oz. can diced green chilies
• 1 Tb dried thyme, crumbled
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 – 16 oz. cans black beans, drained & rinsed
• 2 C or more of chicken or vegetable broth
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Dash of cayenne (optional)
• 1-2 Tb fresh lime juice
• Garnishes: sour cream or crème fraiche, cilantro, sliced green onions, toasted cumin seed, grated cheese (see below for specifics)

All the fixins' 

Chopping the onions

Heat olive oil in large pot. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Saute until the onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Mix in canned tomatoes and their juices, chilies, thyme and cumin. Reduce heat to low and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.

Add beans and 2 C chicken or vegetable broth. Puree soup in batches in your food processor or blender. Return soup to pot and return to a simmer.  Season with salt and pepper, add lime juice and heat through. If it is too thick, add additional broth.  It is now ready to serve and enjoy with your favorite garnishes.

Before puree

Apres puree!

When in a rush, I simply grate some cheese, chop a little green onion and sprinkle with some sprigs of cilantro and perhaps a dollop of sour cream or crème fraiche. Pretty. If you want to get fancy – make this wonderful toasted cumin seed crème fraiche.

Toasted Cumin Seed Crème Fraiche (hacked from Bobby Flay)

• 1 Tb whole cumin seeds
• 1 C crema or crème fraiche or swap for yogurt or sour cream
• Salt & Pepper

Place the cumin in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Toast until lightly golden brown. Place in spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind until coarse. Stir it into the crème and season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

If you have the time – this is a wonderful plus to this simple, yet delicious, soup. It is one of those toppings that is in lock-step with the soup: the richest, creamiest, smokiest accent to a spicy hearty soup.

Enjoy!  I know you will.

Larue