Cooking Together–Chipotle Black Bean Soup

Chipotle Black Bean Soup

Serves 4

3 15 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup boiling water
1 dried chipotle chile (or you can buy the canned chipotles)
1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained

Toppings:
Shredded jack or cheddar cheese
Sliced green onions
Chopped tomatoes
Cilantro
Sour cream
Tortilla chips

Combine boiling water and chipotle chile in a bowl; let stand 15 min. or until soft. (Skip this step if you are using a chile from a can) Drain, seed, and chop.

Heat oil in pot over medium high heat. Add onion, saute for 2 min. or until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 min. Add 2 cans of beans, chipotle chile, spices, chicken broth, and diced tomatoes and green chiles. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 min. Puree until smooth. Add the reserved can of black beans and heat through. Serve soup with toppings of your choice.

Here are my thoughts on the recipe:

Ease of preparation: This was easy to make, but you do have to let it simmer for 30 min. so give yourself some time. Also, I highly recommend using one of my favorite kitchen tools for the blending part. Pouring it into a blender is just so messy. Seriously…if you make a lot of soups that involve blending (or even just every once in awhile) invest in a hand blender.

Overall opinion: For me, I thought that without the toppings this soup would be a bit lacking. But I did enjoy it with the toppings. Also, I finally found a recipe my husband liked! So that’s worth a lot! I would say you definitely need to like black beans if you’re going to try this one.

Husband thoughts: He liked this soup a lot….well, at least a lot better than the past couple dishes I’ve tried.

Would you have it again: We would have it again, especially since Rick said he’d like to have it again, but it’s not at the top of my list.

How did you serve it? We had it for dinner, and topped it with sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips. Don’t skip out on the toppings! I think this soup would be really boring without them.

Would you change anything next time: I think topping with green onions, diced tomatoes, and cilantro would be good!

General Comments: If you like black beans, and like soup, this would be a great recipe to try!

Next Week’s Recipe:

Mango/Pineapple Salsa:

(Sheriff family recipe)

Mix 2 diced mangos, chopped red onion (small), diced red bell pepper, diced cilantro, 1 can crushed pineapple, 1 lime’s juice, dash of cayenne pepper, and salt in a bowl. Refrigerate until serving over BBQ chicken and steamed rice.

Tomato Red BBQ sauce (for chicken or beef):

from the Weber’s Real Grilling Cookbook

1/2 C ketchup

2 T white wine vinegar

1 T Worcestershire sauce

2 t molasses

1 t soy sauce

1/2 t chili powder

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t celery salt

1/4 t liquid hickory smoke

2 T water

Mix together in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Cook for about one minute, stirring occasionally.

This week’s recipe comes from Kim…with the beautiful weather we’ve been having here in California, grilling some BBQ Chicken and serving it with some Mango/Pineapple Salsa sounds great to me! Join us…

Linked to Once a Month Mom.