Frijoles Negros
Making soup with dried beans really requires thinking about it the day before. I soaked the little black beans overnight and today as I drained them, I noticed many of them had turned beautiful shades of blue and purple.
I attempted Cuban black bean soup, which didn’t taste exactly like that of my good Cuban friend, but was actually very good.
Here’s what I came up with by combining a couple of recipes and adapting them to use the 1-3/4 pounds of black beans I had:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (recipe called for Jalapeno, but I didn’t have any)
2 tablespoons ground cumin
Sprigs of fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
3/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1-3/4 pounds black beans, rinsed and picked over to remove debris
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes
4 cups water
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon kosher/sea salt
Soak the beans overnight in enough water to cover by 2 inches. Rinse the beans and cook in a large pot with water covering the beans for 2 hours, bringing to a boil and then turning down to simmer. In a large Dutch oven, saute the onions, garlic, celery, carrots, and green pepper in the olive oil over moderately high heat until the onion is translucent. Add the spices and stir to coat all the vegetables. Add the drained beans, tomatoes, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and place in a 325 degree oven for 2 hours. Puree about 1/4 of the soup in a food processor and then put it back in the Dutch oven. Add the vinegar and salt and serve over rice.
I threw in 4 skinless chicken thighs which added flavor since there is otherwise no meat in the recipe. They were a nice addition.
All you need is a green salad for a complete meal!
SHOULD'VE'S: Next time I won't drain the beans after their first cooking, thereby retaining the lovely black color that otherwise gets washed away. I will also serve them with some really good hot sauce since I refrain from adding spiciness in deference to my husbands GIRD!
posted by Barbara at 10:20 PM
8 Comments:
First Restaurant I worked at after High School had black Bean soup as the house soup. I went from busboy to Chef there in two years. what we did for Black Bean there was to puree' the whole batch, leaving it looking like grey River Bottom mud.
It was the ugliest soup in the world, and it didn't help that it was topped with grated hard boiled egg, which is Traditional.
But it tasted fantastic!
Years later, Black Bean soup gained a lot of popularity, and i think it helped that instead mashing all the beans into a grey looking goop, you could make a beautifull shiny black asoup.
my recipe is a loy like yours Barb.
i would use beef sausage instead of chicken to get a little smoke into it, and i stopped puree'ing any of the beans, just tighten a bit withCornStarch, and top it with lots of cilantro and a dollop of Sour Cream!
Oh, that restaurant? We also had Paella on the menu!
and of course, in 1975, all the waitresses wore micromini skirts. I was hooked!
Sounds delish- I love Black beans.
My favorite (and easiest) recipe is black bean, corn and tomato salad. A touch of lime juice in the vinaigrette gives a nice bite.
Black beans are awesome! In Tampa, the Cuban tradition is to eat them with raw diced onions on top.
Following Bulletholes' excellent advice, I bought Jalapeno hot sauce, sour cream, cilantro, and green onions to crank those beans up a notch today. I made fresh guacamole to eat with a bowl of beans and rice for lunch. Yum! Things like this always taste better the next day.
I should have said "the two Steves' excellent advice"...
And Gewels, I look forward to using some of my next batch of black beans in a salad. Sounds like a great combination, especially with the lime juice!
Barbara, black beans are a faorite of mine. The soup sounds delicious.
Wow, I love black beans. I might try to make some while I'm home for a day or two this week. Thanks for the reminder!
This recipe sounds divine - thanks for posting it!
I'm not a food expert, but I seem to remember a reason for not using the water you soak the beans in for cooking them. Just can't remember why - if I remember or find out, I'll let you know!
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