Quick Black Bean Soup with Spicy Cilantro Paste
Every week at Food52, Caroline Wright creates simple, civilized recipes that feed four -- for under $20, in under 20 minutes.
Today: Black beans make a comeback.
I haven't cooked with black beans for a while, a realization I had as I plucked the cans from my pantry shelf. This recipe was of the intent of bringing the beans back to my table, and this soup was the perfect flavorful candidate to sing their merits. I wanted it to be as simple as possible -- so, the ingredients are tossed in the pan and simmered from the start. To brighten the flavor, I made a quick herb paste in the blender to serve on top of the soup.
Quick Black Bean Soup with Spicy Cilantro Paste
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 poblano, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, divided
3 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch cilantro
1 jalapeno, optional
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
Cooked rice, for serving, optional
1. In a medium saucepan, combine oil, onion, poblano, 1 teaspoon cumin, black beans and 2 cups water. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook soup 15 minutes or until flavors have blended.
2. While soup simmers, combine cilantro, jalapeno, sherry vinegar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin in a blender with 3 tablespoons water. Season with salt and pepper. Blend until smooth; transfer to a bowl. Add 1/2 of the soup to blender and blend until smooth; stir into remaining soup. Serve soup over rice, if desired, topped with cilantro sauce..
Save and print the full recipe on Food52.
As a freelance food writer and cook, I first wrote this style of recipe as a column on my blog, The Wright Recipes, as an excuse to cook good food for my friends in a quick and simple way.
Twenty-Dollar, Twenty-Minute™ Meals grew into a cookbook that was published by Workman in May 2013. The recipes found here are original, made especially for Food52 to once again celebrate simple food with friends.
This article originally appeared on Food52.com: Quick Black Bean Soup with Spicy Cilantro Paste
Photo by Caroline Wright
