Pretty Good Black Bean Soup

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I made this the other night based on what I had in the fridge, freezer and assorted cabinets. Two cans of black beans? Check. Actually, I have five cans of black beans in the cabinet. Every time I go to the store, I can’t remember if I have black beans, so I buy another can. *sigh*

Anyway, to continue, a bag in the freezer of about 1 cup fire-roasted, diced tomatoes? Check. Jalapeno that I really need to use…? Well, you get the idea. For a things-I-need-to-use-in-the-kitchen project, it turned out really tasty!

Pretty Good Black Bean Soup
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
3 slices Canadian bacon, diced (you can skip this, or substitute sausage, bacon, some other kind of pork product, etc…)
1 small white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup fire-roasted, diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 jalapeno, roasted, peeled & diced
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
juice of 1/2 an orange
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt & pepper to taste

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Toast the cumin seeds in a small pan over medium heat. Just for a minute or two. Then, grind them in a spice or coffee grinder (a dedicated spice coffee grinder or a coffee grinder that you can wash the top part of). Set aside.

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Heat a soup pot over medium heat and add the Canadian bacon. Cook for a few minutes and then add the onion and garlic. Cook it all for 6-7 minutes until starting to color and soft. Add the ground cumin, dried oregano, roasted jalapeno* and fire-roasted tomatoes. Stir to combine.

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Next, drain one can of beans and add that. Rinse the other can and drain, then add that. I did this to get some of the salt from the canned beans out of the soup, but I still wanted a little bit of the canned stuff so that’s why I did it this way. You can rinse and drain both or not, whatever you want to do.

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Add the stock next, as well as the orange juice and bring to a boil, Reduce and simmer for 30-60 minutes. I had time so I just simmered it for 60 minutes. If you want a thicker soup, use an immersion blender or a regular blender to break up some of the beans. Before serving, add most of the cilantro (saving some for a garnish) and add salt and pepper to taste.

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You can also garnish with sour cream, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, etc…

* To roast a jalapeno, put it under the broiler, turning as needed, until it is all black. Put it in a small paper or plastic bag to steam for about 5 minutes. Then, you should be able to peel the blackened skin off easily. Cut the stem off, slice in half nd remove most the seeds ant the ribs. Dice.

5 Replies to “Pretty Good Black Bean Soup”

  1. Ha! Add me as also suffering from the ‘remembering which beans I have at home’ syndrome.
    Jalepenos rock, beans rock. Our fave Mexican place has the best salsa ever and I think it’s cause they (like you) roast the jalepenos before whirling into the salsa…
    Keep cookin’ girl and hope it’s not as hot out there as it is in Naperville!

  2. Toni: Yep, chick peas too. And kidney beans and white beans. I need to carry a piece of paper around w/ me at all times of just my cabinet bean count
    Colleen: Roasted jalapenos are so good! Thanks, I will. No, it’s been pretty pleasant here – high 70’s and sunny! 🙂

  3. My husband and youngest son would love this. They adore black beans. You sound like me with the overabundance of canned beans. I also buy at least a can when I’m at the grocery store b/c I’m always certain I don’t have any left at home.

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