Black Bean Soup

Let’s have one last hurrah for having a kitchen before the school year begins.

2 cups (generally a 1 ib bag) dry black beans, rinsed, soaked overnight, and drained

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, squished

1 stalk celery, chopped

10 cups water or vegetable broth; doesn’t need to be strong.

1 bay leaf

Salt, pepper, sage, thyme, savory, and whatever else seems like a good idea–to taste

4 tbsp fresh lime juice

Assorted toppings: yogurt or sour cream, hot sauce, oddball peppers from the garden, lime wedges, avocado wedges, chips, salsa, fresh cilantro or chives, tomatoes, onion, shredded lettuce.  Anything you could put on a taco is worth a try; I think I like it best with some sour cream, cilantro, peppers, sweet onion, and avocado.

Step 1: Heat the oil in the bottom of large pot, and saute the onion and half of the garlic till the onion is tender.

Step 2: Add beans, water, and all spices except for salt and pepper and the rest of the garlic.  Bring to a boil.

Step 3: Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for an hour and a half.

Step 4: Salt what you have, add the rest of the garlic, and simmer for another hour and a half or until beans are soft.  If it’s really really thick, add some more water or broth.

Step 5: Fish out the bay leaf, then put half the soup through the blander.  Stir the puree back into to the pot.

Step 6: Make sure it’s all warm, then go for a final round of seasoning–add the lime juice, salt, and pepper.

Serve it with lots of fresh things on top; makes about seven servings.

This recipe is from The Clueless Vegetarian.  I’m not going to tell you to go buy yourself a copy, but I will tell you that I literally can not feed myself without this book.  Plus, every time I page through, it makes me want to both cook and color.

It’s the ideal vegetarian starter book; lots of familiar, mainstream american flavors, but with enough diversity thrown in to keep you from getting bored.  Best of all, the recipes are reliably delicious.  So, try a few, and when you find that they are awesome, maybe get a copy of the book.  It will make your life a better place.  🙂

Featured image is from here.