This black bean soup sends me right back to Ohio every time I make it and provides instant warmth and comfort.
This vegetarian soup was inspired by a canned soup by Amy’s Organics that I used to eat weekly while in graduate school. Now I realize graduate school canned soup may not be the best way to sell this recipe to you haha, but it was honestly perfect: quick, filling, and falvorful. This version of the soup is a touch spicer and deeper in flavor, and although it isn’t as fast as opening a can and using the microwave, I think it’s worth the time and effort and hope you will too!
Nerdy note:
I’m continuing to explore the world of AI generated art and wow is it impressive! I really enjoyed using OpenAI’s DALL-E, but have been blown away with how easy to use, clear, and beautiful the images from Midjourney have been. The two images used on this post were both made by Midjourney and have honestly been really fun to create. These tools are sparking such an interest in expanding my machine learning understanding while making it quicker and easier to get this recipe up while I work on my food photography skills. Such a neat time we’re living in and hopefully we get to see more technological advancements!
Black Bean Soup
Author: Natalie Smith
Equipment
- Immersion blender
Ingredients
- 4 Cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 Can of Rotel (10 oz can) * if you can't find Rotel, you can use the equivalent amount of canned of diced tomatoes and canned green chilies
- 3 Ribs of celery, diced to the size of the beans
- 2 Large carrots, peeled and diced to the size of the beans
- 2 Medium yellow onions, , diced to the size of the beans * want to have about twice as much onion as you do celery and carrots combined
- ½ Red bell pepper, , diced to the size of the beans
- 5 Cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 tsp Ground cumin
- ½ tsp Red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
- 4 Cups Vegetable broth
- 1 tsp Kosher salt * Diamond Crystal brand
- 2 Tbsp Olive oil
After soup has simmered and you've pureed 3 cups of the soup
- 1 Cup Frozen corn, thawed * I do this by soaking them in warm water
- 1 Tbsp Lime juice
Optional toppings
- Diced avocado, fresh cilantro, sour cream, lime wedges for additional lime juice, and/or tortilla chips
Instructions
- In a large pot heat oil over medium high heat.
- Once oil is warm sauté celery, carrots, and onions along with the salt.
- After about 5 minutes, add the red bell pepper and sauté for another few minutes.
- Once veggies are mostly soft and onions are translucent, add the garlic, cooking for another minute stirring frequent to prevent burning.
- Add the spices, cooking for about 30 seconds while stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Add the Rotel (or diced tomatoes and green peppers if you can't find Rotel), cooking for about 30 seconds.
- Add the stock and black beans to the pot, stir all together and bring to a boil.
- Let soup simmer covered on low for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to prevent beans for sticking to the bottom of the pot
- While sou is simmering, thaw the frozen corn by putting it in a bowl of hot water and letting it sit until soup has cooked and been partially pureed.
After soup has simmered for 30 minutes
- Transfer 3 cups of soup to a container and puree with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Add pureed soup back to the pot along with the lime juice and drained now thawed corn.
- Taste and adjust for salt if needed.
- Serve with toppings of your heart's desire and enjoy!
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