Black Bean Soup With Sherry Food

BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pan. Add the onions, garlic cloves and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Do not brown.
• Add the black beans, chicken broth, oregano, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 15 minutes.
• Purée the soup using a hand-held immersion blender until very smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, you can use a standard blender to puree the soup in batches; see note.) Stir in the lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls and top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and freshly chopped cilantro.
• Note: If using a standard blender, purée the soup in batches, being careful not to fill the jar more than halfway. Be sure to leave the hole in the lid open and loosely cover with a dish towel to allow the heat to escape. Pour the blended soup into a clean pot.
• Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. (It may thicken up a bit while in the freezer; if so, just thin it out with a bit of water or broth while reheating.)

BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Cover beans with cold water by 3 inches in a bowl and soak at room temperature at least 8 hours, or quick-soak (see cooks' note, below). Drain well in a colander.
• Cook bacon in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to a small bowl and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot. Reserve 2 tablespoons chopped bacon for topping, then return remaining bacon to pot and heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, chile, oregano, bay leaf, and thyme and sauté, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add beans, chicken broth, and white pepper and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until beans are very tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Discard bay leaf and stir in cilantro.
• Serve soup topped with sour cream, chopped cilantro, and reserved bacon.

PATTY'S MOM'S BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Soak the beans overnight in a pan of water.
• Drain off the soaking water. Simmer beans in 8 cups of water until soft.
• While the beans are cooking, saute the chopped onion and celery in margarine until golden. Add the vegetables to the soup pot along with bay leaves, parsley, salt, pepper, and ham bone. Cook over medium heat for 3 hours, adding water if needed.
• After the beans are cooked and soft, remove the ham. Set aside. Cool soup, and puree in batches. Return the soup to the pot, and add dry sherry.
• Cut the meat off the bone, and add the meat to the soup. Cook over low heat until warmed through, and adjust seasonings.

BLACK BEAN SOUP WITH SHERRY

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy-duty pot over medium heat. Add the onion, green pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, purée the chicken broth with one can of black beans and bean liquid in a blender. Add the cumin and oregano to the pot and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Stir in the black bean purée and the remaining whole beans with their liquid; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pot, and simmer, stirring frequently, until the flavors are melded, about 10 minutes. Stir in the sherry and season to taste with salt and pepper.

BLACK BEAN SOUP WITH RICE AND SHERRY

Steps:

• Place beans in a large bowl and cover with several inches of water. Let soak 8 hours or overnight.
• Drain and rinse beans and place in a large pot over medium heat with beef broth, chicken broth, ham hock, onion, carrot, parsley, garlic and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 6 to 8 hours.
• Strain soup into a large saucepan, reserving bean mixture. Remove ham hock and discard. Puree bean mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir into reserved broth. Cook over low heat 2 hours. Season with salt and pepper.
• In the last 20 minutes of cooking, bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in rice. Reduce heat, cover and cook 20 minutes.
• Ladle soup into six bowls. Top with cooked rice, a spoonful of sherry and a sprinkling of red onion.

HEARTY CUBAN BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Place beans in a heavy pot. Add enough cold water to cover beans by 2". Bring to a boil; remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Drain beans; return to same pot. Add 8 cups cold water. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, ans simmer until beans are tender, adding more water by cupfuls as needed to cover beans, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Drain beans.
• Heat same pot over medium heat. Add chorizo and bacon and cook until chorizo is brown and bacon is crisp, stirring frequently and breaking up chorizo with back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Add onion and next 4 ingredients. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring frequently about 5 minutes. Add 4 cups broth, tomatoes with juice, and beans. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer 20 minutes for flavors to blend. Cool slightly.
• Working batches, coarsely puree soup in processor using on/off turns. Return puree to pot, adding more broth as needed for desired consistency. Can be made ahead to this point. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled.
• Bring soup to boil. Add sherry; reduce heat to medium and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Place large spoonful salsa in each of 6 large bowls. Ladle soup over salsa. Serve, passing additional salsa, chopped cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, and chili powder alongside.

BLACK BEAN BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Steps:

• Remove the seeds from your squash, cut off the peel, then cut into small cubes.
• Finely chop the onion and bell pepper.
• Mince your garlic.
• Drain and rinse a can of black beans (or cook from dry).
• Warm avocado oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add chopped onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Then add chopped bell pepper and minced garlic. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Next, add the spices.
• Toss to coat the spices evenly around your vegetables.
• Add the cooking sherry/ wine and cook until it's reduced by (at least) half. This takes about 3-4 minutes, or longer if you use more. Scrape around the bottom of your pot to lift any spices/ flavor that may have stuck.
• Add the remaining ingredients.
• Cook until the squash is soft, about 10 minutes. I recommend adding a lid to the pot for the first 10 minutes, then removing it for the last 10 minutes (keep lid on if you like a thinner soup).
• You can speed the cooking process by turning up the heat to medium-high. I prefer a slightly longer cooking time to give the flavors time to meld together.
• Decide if you want to serve the soup as-is, partially blended or fully blended (it's a very thick soup when fully blended).
• Use an immersion blender, regular blender or food processor to blend the soup.
• For a partially blended soup, blend anywhere from ¼ to ¾ of the soup (recipe photos show about ½ the soup blended).
• Serve the soup hot and garnish with any of your favorite toppings like cilantro, vegan sour cream, avocado, tortilla chips, pepitas, sprinkle of smoked paprika, etc.

SPICY BLACK BEAN SOUP FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté carrots, onions and garlic, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes, until soft and fairly dry. Don't brown. Add sherry and cook until it is fully absorbed, a minute or two. Add jalapeños, chipotle chilies, adobo sauce and cumin. Cook, stirring, for a minute or so.
• Add beans, stock, oregano and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook uncovered for 1 ½ - 2 hours, until the beans are tender. If the broth gets too thick, add a little water from time to time. After one hour of cooking, add 1 teaspoon of salt.
• Finish the soup: Depending on how thin the broth is, you may choose to purée or mash some of the soup to create a thicker, creamier broth. I like to purée about 1/3 of the soup, right in the pot, using an immersion blender. A potato masher also works well.
• Taste and correct seasoning with salt and pepper. Add a teaspoon or two of red wine vinegar to brighten the flavors. For more heat, stir in more adobo sauce.
• Serve soup hot in deep bowls garnished with your favorite toppings.

SPICY BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions, celery and carrot and a light sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetable are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic, cumin and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the beans and broth and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook, reducing heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, until the broth is flavorful and the beans are very tender, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer about 4 cups of the soup to a stand blender, securely fasten the lid, and blend until smooth (never fill your blender past the maximum fill line, and beware the steam that escapes from the top of the blender, it's very hot). Or, use an immersion blender to blend a portion of the soup.
• Return the pureed soup to the pot, stir in the cilantro, vinegar/lime juice and salt and pepper, to taste. Serve.

EASY SHERRY BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat salsa in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the beans and broth, then heat to boiling; reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15 minutes.
• Cool slightly, then spoon half the soup into a food processor or blender and puree.
• Return the pureed soup to the saucepan and heat through. (I think this means with the other half that is not pureed so that it has some texture).
• Serve with sour cream, additional salsa, and a squeeze of lime (if using). Or stir in 1-2 tablespoons dry sherry to each bowl.

BLACK-BEAN SOUP WITH SHERRY AND LIME

Steps:

• Purée black beans in batches in a blender (use caution if beans are hot) and transfer as puréed to a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in 1 cup water, Sherry, lime juice, and salt to taste, then thin soup, if necessary, to desired consistency with additional water. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.

SHERRIED BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the beans and 4 cups of water to a boil. Boil briskly for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 1 hour.
• In a 5-quart Dutch oven, melt the butter. Add the onions, celery, carrot, and garlic, and cook until soft but not browned. Add the ham hock, the remaining 4 cups water, parsley, salt, cayenne pepper, cloves, mustard seed, bay leaf, and beans (with their liquid). Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 3 hours.
• Remove the ham hocks and let cool slightly. Remove and discard bay leaf. Place about half of the beans with about 1 cup of the liquid from the soup in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Return the puree to the soup in the Dutch oven.
• Remove the ham from its bone and add the meat to the soup. (Discard fat, bones and skin.) Reheat the soup over medium heat. Stir in the sherry. Serve hot soup with choice of garnishes to sprinkle on top.

BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Pick over the beans, discarding any stones or bits of debris. Place the beans in a colander or strainer and rinse well under cold running water. Drain. Place the beans in a large stockpot or bowl, add the water (it should cover the beans by 2 inches) and soak for 8 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Heat the oil in a very large stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the bacon and saute, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 15 minutes.
• Add the onion, carrot, and garlic to the pot and sweat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft but not browned, about 10 minutes.
• Drain the soaked beans. Add them to the pot along with 8 cups stock and the bay leaves. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, until the beans are tender and the vegetables have practically dissolved, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Stir the soup occasionally to make sure the beans aren't sticking to the bottom of the pot. If the soup becomes too thick, add additional stock or water. Most of the beans should keep their shape, but some will fall apart enough to thicken the soup.
• Remove the pot from the heat and season with salt, pepper, Tabasco, dry sherry, and vinegar. Remove the bay leaves.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with any combination you like of sour cream, diced onion, fresh cilantro leaves, and chopped hard-cooked egg.

SHERRIED BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Rinse beans and place in a bowl. Cover with boiling water and set aside.
• In a saucepan of at least two-quart capacity, saute the salt pork until it just begins to brown. Add one-half cup of the onion and green pepper and continue to cook over medium heat until sauced. Add garlic and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute or so.
• Drain beans and add them to the saucepan along with three cups of water.
• Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, covered, for one-and-ahalf hours, until the beans are just tender. Add salt and pepper to taste, simmer uncovered for another 30 minutes, but watch carefully and stir from time to time so the beans do not stick.
• Remove one-half cup of the beans, mash or puree them and return them to the saucepan along with the sherry. Adjust seasonings if necessary and serve, topped with remaining chopped onion and sour cream.