Black Bean Soup

Sopa de Frijol Negro

Bean soups are served throughout Mexico. Try this recipe for a rich comforting black bean soup, called sopa de frijol negro. It is simple to prepare and you get great results with canned beans. The results are even better with home-cooked beans.

The soup is vegetarian but you can make this soup vegan by omitting the cream and cheese when you serve it.

Gather Your Ingredients:

3 cups of black beans

2 Roma tomatoes

1 medium onion

4 cloves of garlic

1 serrano chile (optional)

1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

⅛ teaspoon cumin

tortilla strips

6 tablespoons Mexican cream

1 avocado cut into ¼ inch cubes

6 ounces queso fresco a young white Mexican cheese

Rinse the beans and place them in a pot with enough water to cover them. Add half an onion, salt to taste, and cover the pot.

Cook over medium-high heat for approximately 45–60 minutes. If you prefer, you can use a pressure cooker to save time.

How do you know if the beans are ready? Very carefully, using a large spoon, take out one bean and mash it with a fork or your fingers. Keep in mind that it may be very hot, so take the necessary precautions. If the bean mashes easily, it means the beans are done and ready to eat.

Reserve the remaining bean broth and set aside one cup of the cooked beans for later.

Roughly chop the tomatoes and onions. Peel the garlic. Heat a pan to high. Add 2 tablespoons cooking oil then add the vegetables.

Stirring frequently, cook until the vegetables have started to brown.

If you decide to add serrano chili to accompany your soup, finely chop it and set it aside.

Blend the roasted vegetables, cumin, and oregano until smooth. (Add a little water if necessary to blend).

Next, blend the black beans with the vegetable mixture until very smooth. (Add 1 cup of bean broth to blend, add more if necessary).

Place the blended soup in a pan on the stove.

Simmer the soup for one hour. (Add bean broth so that it doesn’t become too thick.)

Add 1 cup of beans and salt to taste.

To serve garnish each bowl of soup with the tortilla strips, 1 tablespoon of Mexican cream, 1 ounce of cubed queso fresco cheese, and the cubed avocado.

Provecho!

Notes:

If you use canned beans, be sure to rinse them well to remove the excess salt. You can substitute mozzarella for the “queso fresco.” The soup will keep 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator.

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Nutrition:

Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 280mg | Potassium: 588mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 525IU | Vitamin C: 8.6mg | Calcium: 227mg | Iron: 2.3mg