Hearty Black Bean Soup

The weather has taken a turn towards winter and a hearty winter soup seems in order.  I hear from some people that they’ve never found a good black bean soup recipe and from others that the ones they have tried are too spicy for their family’s taste.  
Give this one a try.  I’ve worked on this recipe over the years to both simplify it and to combine some family friendly flavors.


Hearty Black Bean Soup

2 ½ to 3 cups of dry black beans (or 2-3 cans of black beans)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic               
1 large onion chopped
2 carrots finely diced or shredded
½ pound ground venison, lean beef, or turkey (optional)
2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
1 Tablespoon dried cilantro or parsley
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes or equivalent home canned

Begin by quick soaking the black beans.  Check the beans for small stones, rinse, and place in a large pan with 2-3 quarts of water.  Bring the beans to a boil and boil for 1 minute.  Turn off the heat, cover the pan and leave it set for 1-2 hours.   This method is preferred to the overnight soak as it removes more of the small chain carbohydrates that cause some people digestive problems.
After the beans have set, drain and rinse the beans under running water.  Return the beans to the pan with enough water to cover the beans by an inch or two.  Do Not add salt...Cook the beans for 60-120 minutes until they are done.  Add water as necessary.  As beans age, they lose moisture causing the cooking times to increase.  Fresh beans cook faster!
If you have a pressure cooker, an essential tool in my kitchen, you can cover the beans with 1 inch of water, bring up the cooker to pressure, and cook for 5 minutes.  Let the pressure reduce naturally.
There is the third alternative, if you prefer not to bother with cooking the beans yourself, or if you are in a big hurry, you can use 2-3 14oz cans of black beans instead.
Set the beans aside and begin to prepare the rest of the soup.

Browning optional meat, saute onion, garlic, carrot

Add the olive oil to a soup pot and begin to lightly brown the meat (optional).  Add the onion and cook until it is translucent.  Add the garlic and diced carrot and saute briefly.

Add the cooked beans, taco seasoning, cilantro or parsley and the 28 oz can of diced tomatoes.  Taco seasonings are not all created equal.  Some have high salt content, particularly the ones in envelopes.  

Combine all ingredients and simmer

While these are ok to use, be sure to check taste before adding additional salt.  I use a bulk organic taco seasoning from Frontier and it does not have salt.   I usually add about 2 teaspoons of salt at this point but if you are using canned beans or salted taco seasoning you will not need this much salt.  The best measure of how much salt you need is to taste.  Add small amounts and taste again.
 
Once all the ingredients are in the pot, cover the soup and let it simmer for at least an hour to blend all of the flavors.

Serve the soup in your favorite soup bowls and you can accompany it with a few corn chips for crunch.

Like every soup, this soup gets even better the second day so make a big pot and take a day or two off cooking!

Enjoy!