Black Bean Soup

I'm in one of those seasons in life I sometimes think of as a 'Get Out, Right Now' season. (Thanks JoJo, twenty years later and your song's still stuck in my head!) Right now this primarily concerns our pantry, which I usually like to keep well stocked, but which now needs to be liquidated or given away in the next month. During today's perusal of the shelf survivors my gaze fell upon a can of black beans trying to hide off in a corner, and after watching a few videos on Instagram, the following recipe is what resulted!

I wish I could attribute this recipe to a specific cook or two, but I really did zone out through quite a few videos before deciding to just go with the major outlines in my head, adapted (as always) to my own preferences. So, try this out as is, or with your own set of modifications. I love the basic 'veganality' of this recipe, but it's adaptability is also a wonderful thing - if you're not a vegan, it's a fast day, whatever, then you can slather as much sour cream on this as your long-suffering, increasingly clogged heart desires! It really is quite nice on its own, but the toppings take it to the next level. Enjoy!

Black Bean Soup

(3 servings)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 medium-large onion (chopped)

10 cloves of garlic* (crushed/minced)

1 tablespoon of cumin

1 tablespoon of smoked paprika

2 teaspoons of chili powder

2 teaspoons of dried parsley

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

3 bay leaves

Black pepper (to taste)

540ml / 18oz of diced tomatoes**

540ml / 18oz of canned black beans (rinsed)

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

2 cups of broth***

Salt (to taste)

Lime juice (to garnish)

Sliced avocado (to garnish)

Sour cream (to garnish)

Fresh cilantro (to garnish)

*Don't go skimping on the garlic! I'm told it's great for your heart, and if someone has so little taste in good food as to be able to smell your garlic breath later, then that's not somebody you want in your life!

**I keep roasted diced tomatoes with garlic in my pantry, they provide a beautiful flavor that plain canned tomatoes don't have.

***I use vegetable broth so that the final product can be vegan or vegetarian depending on my needs the day I'm actually having the soup, but you do you!

Directions

1) Put the olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat, then once it's hot add the onion and sauté until it starts to soften and become translucent.

2) Add the garlic to the onion and keep sautéing for a couple of minutes until everything begins to brown a bit, then deglaze with a couple of spoons of water.

3)  Stir in the seasonings and sauté for a minute or so until fragrant. You don't want anything to burn, so add a little water if needed to keep everything moving and to avoid burning.

4) Pour the tomatoes and beans into the pot along with the broth, bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer the soup until the beans reach your desired tenderness. (I generally do my own thing for half an hour and come back to beautifully tender beans.) At this point add your salt and adjust the seasonings as needed.

5) Serve the soup as is, with the suggested garnishes, or even with a bit of baguette (if I have some dried out baguette at home I'll often cut it up to use as croutons) and enjoy!