Black beans are a great source of many dietary needs. This simple soup is a great way to prepare this humble legume as a meal or as a condiment for other foods.
While this recipe originates from Costa Rican, there are similar recipes all over Latin America. It is basically a black bean puree, but with the addition of a few more aromatic vegetables.
If you would like, you could further reduce this soup and use it as a substitute for black bean puree in recipes like tlyudas, pambazos, and chalupas.
Black Beans
Black beans are a common ingredient in food all across Latin America. Actually called the black turtle bean to avoid confusion with black beans in other parts of the world–the South East Asian black bean used in fermented black bean puree is quite different– this humble little legume packs a lot of flavor.
Health Benefits
The health benefits of this little bean are many. Packed with dietary fiber, this is a food recommended for folks with high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart attack risks. The heart health benefits of black beans come not only from the high amount of fiber, but also the high levels of folate and magnesium.
It is also a good source of the enzyme sulfite oxydase and can be helpful to folks who are sensitive to sulfites which are found in many prepared foods.
For those of you watching your antioxidant intake, black beans rank as high as grapes and cranberries as sources of antioxidants. Research has found that the darker a bean’s seed coat, the higher the amount of antioxidants.
Black beans are also a great source of protein for people looking for meat substitutes in their diets.
Black Bean Soup Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 cups black beans, soaked (there is little difference between the taste of canned and dried black beans)
Reserved liquid from can or soaking process
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, diced
1/2 cup of crema (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Process:
1) Fry onions, peppers, and garlic to soften.
2) Add beans and reserved liquid and cook for half an hour to soften beans.
3) Add to a blender with a handful of chopped cilantro and whiz smooth. (A few things can go wrong here. Don’t get excited and overfill the blender. The heat released during the blending can shoot the top off your blender and spray a once clean kitchen with bean puree.)
If you don’t have a blender, a potato masher or wine bottle seem to work as well for mashing the beans. The consistency will be less smooth, but no less tasty.
4) Optional: Stir in crema.
5) Serve with a dollop of crema and a sprig of fresh cilantro.
