Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil for soup

2 medium red onions chopped

1 medium red bell pepper chopped

1 medium green bell pepper chopped

4 garlic cloves minced

4 teaspoons ground cumin

16 ounce dried black beans

1 tablespoon chipotle chiles from a can chopped

7 cups water

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

0.25 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds for finishing

1 cup Mexican crema or crème fraîche for finishing

salt to taste for finishing

freshly ground pepper to taste for finishing

Equipment

5-quart or larger Dutch oven or stock pot

6-quart slow cooker

InstantPot or electric pressure cooker

blender or immersion blender

small sauté pan

spice grinder or mortar and pestle

Directions

Heat olive oil in the bottom of a 5-quart or larger Dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and both bell peppers and sauté until beginning to brown, about eight minutes. Add garlic and cumin; stir one minute. Add beans and chipotles, then 7 cups water. Bring to a full boil, boil for 1 minute, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer, partially cover pot, and cook until beans have softened, about 2 to 3 hours.

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and both bell peppers and sauté until beginning to brown, about eight minutes. Add garlic and cumin; stir one minute. Transfer mixture to 6-quart slow cooker. Add beans and chipotles, then 7 cups hot water. Cover and cook on high until beans are very tender, about 6 hours.

Heat olive oil in the bottom of your pressure cooker on the sauté function. Add onions and both bell peppers and sauté until beginning to brown, about eight minutes. Add garlic and cumin; stir one minute. Add beans and chipotles, then 7 cups hot water. Cover, locking lid and closing steam valve. Cook at high pressure on the manual setting for 30 minutes. If you have time, let the pressure release naturally. I didn’t have a lot of time, and let it release naturally for 10 to 15 minutes, then manually the rest of the way.

Place the cumin in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Toast until lightly golden brown. Place in spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind until coarse. Stir it into the cream and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Transfer two cups bean mixture to blender; puree until smooth, then return the puree to remaining soup in slow cooker. Or, you can use an immersion blender to partially blend the soup right where you’ve cooked it. Stir in lime juice, salt, and pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste; we found we needed more salt. Ladle soup into bowls. Spoon dollop of toasted cumin seed cream over each bowl and serve.