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Black Bean Soup

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Hearty, smokey, and satisfying, this recipe should be part of your soup repertoire.

Ingredients

  • Olive oil

  • 1 bag (1 lb.) dried black beans,  soaked 8-24+ hours, then rinsed & drained

  • 2 smoked ham hocks

  • 1 onion

  • ½ red bell pepper, diced

  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped

  • ½ tsp jalapeno pepper, chopped (about ¼ or ½ a pepper, depending on size)

  • 1 ½ tsp dried oregano

  • 1 bay leaf

  • ½ tsp dried thyme

  • 3 quarts chicken stock

  • 1 tbsp kosher salt

  • ¾ tsp pepper

  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for sprinkling on top after cooking

Preparation

  1. Sauté onion, garlic, red pepper, jalapeno pepper, bay leaf, and thyme in olive oil until soft, around 5-10 minutes.


  2. Add ham hocks, chicken stock, black beans, salt, and pepper and brig to boil.  Skim off foam.


  3. Reduce heat and cook uncovered until beans are soft, around 1 ½-2 hours.  (Liquid will be reduced by about half).


  4. Remove ham hocks, take off any meat, and finely shred it.  Return meat to pot.  If the ham hocks don't yield enough meat for your taste, you can put cut up hot dogs in as well, or instead. Or, if you prefer, don't add any meat back in; up to you.


  5. Discard bay leaf and stir in cilantro.


  6. If you like smooth soup, use a hand (immersion) blender or, in batches, puree in a blender. If you like it with more texture, reserve about a cup of the black beans and puree the rest.



Serve with any or all of the following: sour cream, small-diced red onions, minced jalapenos, cooked chorizo or pancetta, your favorite hot sauce, and/ or chopped cilantro

 

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