Monday, April 12, 2010

Spicy Black Bean Soup

















When we used to live in the Sacramento, California area, the caterer Food for Thought, at one time, had a small restaurant attached to their catering business in mid-town.  We absolutely loved this restaurant for the soup!  We would order an entree, but by the time we had their sumptuous soup and bread, we were really not interested in the entree.  Their soup was that good!

This soup reminds me of the type of soup Food for Thought would serve.  The blend of spices and vegetables gives a great full-bodied flavor to this soup.  Top with some grated cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and baked tortilla strips and you are all set!

This recipe was inspired by the Spicy Black Bean Soup recipe printed in the April & May issue of Taste of Home magazine.  It was submitted by Tia Musser from Hudson, Indianna.  I have made a few changes to the printed recipe.

Recipe for Spicy Black Bean Soup:

Soup:
1 large red onion, chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
1/2 to 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, not drained
1 can kidney beans, not drained
4 cups vegetable broth
1 can (14-1/2 ounce) diced tomatoes with mild green chiles, undrained
1 can (4 ounce) chopped green chiles
1/4 cup cilantro leaves -- Use more or less depending on how much you are a fan of cilantro.

Topping:
1/2 cup sour cream
Cilantro leaves to garnish
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In  Dutch oven saute onion and peppers in oil until tender.  Add garlic.  Cook 1 minute longer.  Stir in the beans, broth, tomatoes and chopped green chiles.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes.  Add cilantro and cook about 5 minutes longer.  Remove from heat and cool slightly.  Place about half of the soup in a blender and cover and process until pureed.  Do not skip the step of pureeing the soup!  Return pureed mixture to Dutch oven and heat until thoroughly warmed.  Top each soup serving with cilantro, 2 tablespoons of sour cream, 1 tablespoon of cheddar cheese, and tortilla strips.

Tortilla Strips:
4 corn tortillas
Small amount of olive oil
Scant amount of salt

Cut corn torillas in long strips and coat with a small amount of olive oil and scant amount of salt.   Place on cookie sheet in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned and crunchy.  Turn strips over several times while cooking.

I am Posting this With Blessed With Grace's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.  Click on the logo below to view other yummy recipes.
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Blessed with Grace

I have also posted this with All the Small Stuff's Tuesdays at the Table.
I have also posted this with Tasty Tuesday.
Finally, I have posted this with Utimate Recipe Swap by My Life As Mom

6 comments:

Allison @ Alli 'n Son said...

I love black bean soup. This recipe sounds really good. Thanks for sharing.

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...

Oh, this sounds delish! I love bean soup!

Brenda said...

I make black bean soup a lot and we love it.

Kathleen said...

This soup sounds delicious. I love black bean soup.. I make the recipe from Fog City Diner but this sounds like one I'd like to try too. Thanks for sharing :)

Lisa@BlessedwithGrace said...

Great looking soup! Thanks for linking to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Tia said...

Hi! I'm Tia Musser and this is actually my recipe! :) I'm glad that you liked it!

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