It’s no secret that I love spicy food.
I fall hard for anything with chili powder, cayenne, salsa or a Mexican twist.
My family is pretty similar, so I made this soup for everyone one night as a general crowd pleaser. I used the healthy hearty black beans (dried and soaked over night) and created a soup so hearty my meat loving family were 100% satisfied.
This soup is fun because I treat it almost like a burrito, you can top it with salsa, cheese, crumbled tortilla chips, whatever you like! Set the table with your favourite fixings and have fun with it.
And if you don’t all gobble it up the first night you make it, it tastes even better the next day, trust me on this one! If you make it thick enough you can even sneak it in a tortilla and make your own black burrito. Mmm..I know from experience that it’s good!
I love using soaked and cooked beans as opposed to buying canned ones. Not only are they cheaper, but they taste better and are easier to digest.
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Spicy Black Bean Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 bag of dried black beans (soaked in water overnight)
- 1 onion, 3 cloves of garlic
- 4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable)
- 1 cup pureed tomatoes (canned or boxed)
- 2 red and yellow bell peppers
- 3 stalks of celery (with leaves)
- 2 big cans of corn (crunchy)
- 2 hot peppers
- 1 tsp smoked sea salt (regular will do, but I love this stuff)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp hot sauce
- Your choice of grated cheese, parsley and tortilla chips for garnishing
1. After soaking your black beans overnight, rinse them, then cover them with water in a large pot and boil for 1-2 hours until firm. Strain the water but keep some of it to add flavor the soup later, and put the beans aside.
2. Lightly cook onions and garlic in olive oil before adding half of the black beans, 1 cup of the black bean water and some spices. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Once cool, blend it up in a food processor or a blender and then put aside.
3. Cook onion, celery and bell peppers in olive oil on a low heat in a big pot. When they begin to get tender, throw in your pureed beans, tomato puree, chicken stock, another cup of bean water, the rest of your black beans and some spices.
4. Bring everything to a boil then let simmer for as long as you can on a low heat so that all the flavors can combine.
5. Throw in the canned corn near the end so that they stay nice and crisp.
6. Keep tasting and adjusting, throwing in more sea salt, hot sauce, chili powder or cumin if it needs it.
7. Serve in deep bowls with your choice of grated cheese, parsley, and tortilla chips with salsa on the side. If you’re like me and can never get enough spice, throw in some more hot sauce and rejoice.
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