Black Bean Soup

Based on the recipe for Costa Rican Black Bean Soup from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian Cookbook, but modified quite a bit to “healthify” it. It’s a little complicated, but worth the effort! It’s one of my favorite soups.

For boiling the beans:

• 2 c dry black beans
• 4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 8 tbsp finely chopped red or green bell pepper (about half of a large one)
• 6 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp salt

For finishing the soup:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 large red or green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 to 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 c chopped cilantro
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)

Put the beans in a pot and cover with 5 inches of water. Soak overnight, or bring to a boil for 5 minutes, turn off the heat, cover and let soak for an hour. Drain the beans and put back in the rinsed-out pot with 8 3/4 c fresh water. Add the garlic, pepper and cilantro and bring to a boil. Cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar and cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Add the salt. Stir and cook another 15 mintues, or until the beans are very tender.

Meanwhile, saute the garlic, onion, pepper, jalapeno and celery in the oil until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Turn the heat down slightly and saute another 2-3 minutes. Add the cilantro and saute another minute, then turn off the heat. Let cool slightly and put in the blender with 1 c of the cooked beans, and about 3 large ladles of the bean liquid. Blend until smooth, then return this mixture to the pot with the rest of the cooked beans. Reheat if necessary.