bread optional
Beans have come a long way since they burst onto the scene as poverty-stricken students’ main fare. Back when I was packing up to go to university (aka college – hello US readers!) almost every student cookbook that came my way featured many, many bean dishes.
And that makes sense. They are cheap, easy to cook and nutritious.
Now that I’ve moved on from the days of squandering furthering my education, beans are a household favourite. Primarily because of this delicious soup.
It’s a thick, cumin-flavoured stew that’s everything good soup should be – warm, filling and easy to prepare.
The sweet potato makes a great thickener but if you’re not into potatoes feel free to sub some other beans (kidney or pinto work best).
Caribbean Black Bean Soup (serves 4-6)
- 1 cup dried black beans, pre-soaked for 24 hours (if you are using the canned stuff, use one can and skip step #1 below)
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 tbsp EVOO/butter
- 4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 1/2 large, white onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 sweet potato, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 tsps cumin
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 cups chicken or veg stock
- Boil the beans for 45 minutes then remove and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil/butter over a low heat and gently fry the onion, celery, sweet potato and garlic for five minutes.
- Pour in the stock, add the cayenne, black pepper, cumin, chickpeas and black beans and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes.
- Transfer from a pan to a blender/food processor and whiz until smooth.
- Stir in apple cider vinegar and serve with a dollop of sour cream.
ready for the close up...
Thanks for the recipe, I have some sweet potatoes I need to use in the fridge, I might make this..
Oooh, enjoy! I wish I had more sweet potatoes in the fridge…they just never seem to stay in the fridge in my house
Shoot, you just reminded me I forgot to soak my black beans at lunch
I bought A LOT because they were on sale, they don’t usually last that long haha
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat.Com™ and commented:
Ms. Cat…you did it again. Made my mouth water. Hey ya’ll, you gotta go visit “Things My Belly Likes”.
I am on a total soup kick right now….will definitely work this one into the roster…
Soup is amazing. I used to hate it when I was little (something about it not having any texture…I liked to chew) but am a total convert now.
Hope you enjoy!
I’ve never had a black bean soup before and I really like the idea of thickening with sweet potato. Definitely coming up to stew and soup seasons here and always looking for yummy ideas to fill my belly, lol
Happy to be of service! Hope the wintery soup season isn’t too painful – at least it’s a good excuse for comfort foods
Best excuse for comfort foods, definitely!
Looks so good. But I must disagree with you on one point; bread is never optional.
Ha! You may be right there…
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