Moosewood Brazilian Black Bean Soup Food

BRAZILIAN BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, half of the garlic, and carrot. Season with cumin and salt. Cook, stirring, until onion and carrot are tender. Stir in remaining garlic, and red pepper; continue cooking until tender.
• Add beans, water, and orange juice to the pan, and season with cayenne pepper. Transfer a portion of the mixture to a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth. Puree part or all of the soup, depending on how you like the texture. Return puree to the pan, and simmer for 10 more minutes to blend flavors before serving.

BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• For the beans: Place the beans in a bowl or pot, cover with cold water and allow to soak overnight. Drain and rinse before proceeding. (Alternatively, add the beans to a medium pot and cover with hot water. Bring to a boil, and then boil for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and allow the beans to sit for 1 hour. Drain the beans and rinse them with cold water before proceeding.)
• In a medium pot, add the soaked beans, chicken broth, 2 cups water, the garlic, onions and green, red and yellow bell peppers. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Then add the chile powder, cumin and salt and stir. Cover and continue simmering until the liquid level is to your liking, about another hour. Taste for seasoning and add more of what it needs.
• For the fixins: Serve in a bowl with sour cream, cilantro, lime wedges and diced bell peppers on the side.

BRAZILIAN ORANGE & BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Soak beans in plent of water for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight).
• Place the soaked beans in a kettle or dutch oven with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until tender (about 1.25 hours).
• Heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet. Add chopped onion, 5 crushed cloves garlic, cumin, salt, and carrot.
• Saute over medium heat until the carrot is just tender. Add the rest of the crushed garlic and diced bell pepper. Saute until everything is very tender (10-15 mins). Add the sauteed mixture to the beans, scraping out every last morsel.
• Stir in orange juice, black pepper and cayenne to taste, and diced tomatoes (optional).
• Puree all or some of the soup in a blender and return to kettle. Simmer over very low heat 10-15 mins more. Serve topped with an artful arrangement of sour cream, cilantro and salsa.

MOOSEWOOD BLACK BEAN AND CHIPOTLE SOUP

Steps:

• Warm the oil in a non-reactive soup pot.
• Sauté the onions and garlic in the oil for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent.
• Add the carrots and cumin and cook on medium heat, sitting often for a few minutes.
• Add the celery and peppers, lower the heat, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes. A.
• dd the beans chipotle, tomatoes, orange juice, and water, and simmer, covered for 20 minutes.
• If you're not using canned beans, add 1/2 cup of beans cooking liquid or additional water.
• If you like a thicker broth, you can blend one or two cups of the soup until pureed, and stir it back into the remaining soup.
• Top with optional sour cream and cilantro.

BLACK BEAN SOUP WITH CUMIN AND JALAPEñO

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Mix in cumin and 1 teaspoon jalapeño. Add beans, tomatoes with juice, and broth; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer 3 cups of soup to blender and puree until smooth. Return puree to pot. Simmer soup until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon jalapeño, if desired.
• Ladle soup into bowls. Pass cilantro, green onions, and feta cheese separately.