Recipe - Black Bean Soup - Graham Kerrs Smart Cooking

1 pound Black turtle beans
2 lg Ham hocks; stripped of all
visible fat
4 teaspoon Extra light olive oil with a
1 ds Sesame oil
2 lg Yellow onions; peeled and
minced
4 Cloves garlic
3 qt Water; (or good beef stock)
One half teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
1 pn Cayenne pepper
4 teaspoon Ground cummin seed
4 Sprigs oregano
3 Bay leaves
1 md Red bell pepper; seeded and
minced
3 tablespoon Fresh chopped parsley
1 tablespoon Brown sugar
1 tablespoon Freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoon Orange zest
1 cup Strained yogurt mixed with
1 teaspoon Chopped cilantro

ß The night before making this splendid soup, place the black beans in a
bowl of water and let them soak overnight.

ß Blanch the ham hocks by putting them in a medium saucepan with enough
cold water to cover and bring to the boil. Pour off the water and rinse out
the pan. ß In a 10 inch diameter Dutch oven, or highsided casserole pot,
heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and saute the onions and garlic.

ß Rinse and drain the black beans thoroughly. Pour them into the pot and
place the ham hocks in the center. This allows the bean flavor to be evenly
"enhocked!"

ß Cover with the water or stock, add the freshly ground black pepper and
stir in the cayenne, 1 tablespoon of the cumin seed, the oregano and bay
leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 One half hours. Now remove the ham
hocks and bay leaves, setting the ham haocks aside in a medium sized bowl
and discarding the bay leaves.

ß Remove 1« cups of beans from the soup, along with 1« cups of the cooking
liquid and puree these in a food processor. Pour this mixture through a
sieve, into a large bowl. With a wooden spoon, push the beans through the
sieve. Pour the puree back into the pot and discard the residue in the
sieve.

ß Chop approximately 1« cups of the lean ham lock meat into very small
chunks and toss them back into the soup.

ß In a hot, small saucepan stir the remaining olive oil with the red
pepper, parsley, the remaining cumin seed and the brown sugar. Mix in the
lemon juice and orange zest and stir into the hot soup. What a fabulous
aroma!

ß Take the soup to the table with the yogurtcilantro mixture on the side.

Recipe by: Graham Kerr

Posted to recipeludigest by Badams adamsfmle@sprintmail.com on Feb 25,
1998