Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup black beans**
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 sweet red or yellow pepper chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- sea salt to taste
- lemon or lime to taste
Optional Garnishes
- chives green onions or cilantro snipped
- cayenne chili powder or hot sauce to taste
- avocado sliced
- ** You can substitute 2 cans of black beans. Best choice? Organic is readily available.
Instructions
- Soak beans overnight in cold water to cover.
- Drain and add fresh water to cover, then simmer until almost tender(about 2 hours)
- Saute vegetables in oil until almost tender. Add to the beans, with vegetable stock, then simmer until beans are tender.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. When cool, puree in blender or use an immersion blender (hand-held) to create a smooth consistency. Return to the pot and add seasonings and lemon or lime juice.
- Heat and serve with sour cream and top with snipped chives or cilantro or make a "lime-cilantro cream" if you want to get 'fancy'.
- In a small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoon lime juice and ½ cup of sour cream. This little garnish is easy-to-make and a favourite with my friends.
Notes
This soup is so easy to make and lends itself well to many variations.
It's nourishing and very tasty!
I like to lightly toast a couple of tortillas brushed with a teeny bit of olive oil and top with dried oregano or thyme or cilantro pesto!
It's nourishing and very tasty!
I like to lightly toast a couple of tortillas brushed with a teeny bit of olive oil and top with dried oregano or thyme or cilantro pesto!