Meatless Friday: Black Bean Soup with Fresh Salsa

This recipe makes a yummy Black Bean Soup that is wonderful for meatless Fridays. Even the children like this soup -- it's pureed, so it's really just great flavor they are getting (along with some good vitamins and fiber) and no yucky vegetable chunks. I serve it with a dollop of sour cream and a spoon of fresh salsa -- and we usually add salsa as we eat -- it really freshens up the tastes. You could enjoy it with corn tortillas chips or warm flour tortillas, or a loaf of Spanish bread. Besides being a great meatless dish, it's also a budget dish.

Copyright 2016 Barbara Stein. All rights reserved.

Black Bean Soup

2 cups dried black beans, washed and picked over
¼ cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
2 TBL ground cumin
1 lrg. jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
2 tsp salt
6 cups vegetable stock
fresh salsa (recipe below)
sour cream

In a large saucepan, place black beans and
fill with water to cover beans with about 2 inches extra.
Let soak for 6 to 8 hours.
Drain soaking water.
Fill with fresh water to just cover beans.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until beans are soft (one to two hours).

When beans are soft, in another large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.
Cook onions until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Add garlic, cumin, salt and jalapeño, cooking 3 to 4 minutes (do not burn garlic).
Stir in black beans and their liquid and mix well.
Pour in vegetable stock.
Turn heat up and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered,
stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes.
Transfer to blender in batches and puree until smooth.
Return to pot and heat through.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh salsa and sour cream.

Fresh Salsa
4 medium ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded and finely diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded and diced finely (for a less spicy salsa, just use one pepper)
1 bunch cilantro, leaves only, chopped
2 TBL lime juice

Mix together and serve immediately.

You can find all our Meatless Friday featured recipes here.