Recipe - Black Bean Soup - The Broadways Cafe

1 One half cup Dried black beans, washed
and sorted
Cold water, to cover beans
One fourth cup Vegetable oil or olive oil
1 lg Onion, chopped
1 lg Bunch cilantro, stemmed an
chopped
8 Cloves garlic, minced
2 One half teaspoon Cumin, ground
2 teaspoon Coriander, ground
One half teaspoon Oregano, crushed
4 One half teaspoon New Mexico chili powder
1 One half teaspoon Crushed red chilies
28 ounce Canned pureed tomatoes
1 teaspoon Freshly ground pepper
3 cup Chicken broth
Garlic, to taste
4 tablespoon Brandy, or sherry

TO SERVE
Grated Parmesan cheese,
fresh
Fresh cilantro

Clean beans, remove any debris, cover with water and soak overnight. Drain
and rinse beans.

STOVETOP: place beans in large stock pot and covering with cold water.
Bring to boil, lower temperature to low, cover and simmer 2One half to 3 hours
or until beans are very tender.

CROCKPOT: Or cook beans overnight or all day on low. Do not add salt it
makes the beans tough.

In a large skillet heat the oil of your choice, saute onion, cilantro,
garlic, cumin, coriander, oregano, chili powder and red chilies until onion
is tender. Stir in tomatoes, pepper, chicken broth and garlic to taste.
Cook 5 minutes over medium heat, set aside.

Drain beans; cool and puree. Return to stock pot, add contents of skillet
and stir well. Turn heat to medium and cook soup until heated through. Add
additional broth if soup is too thick. Stir in brandy or sherry. Spoon soup
into bowls. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and cilantro.

Optional garnish: * A tablespoon of sour cream on top of each bowl * 1
tablespoon guacamole crudo (see recipe)

Source: "California Cafe's Presents from The Broadway, The Cuisine of
California"; by The Broadway Deparment store (c. 1990's). Reprinted in Cook
and Tell 26 Jun 1997 (The PressEnterprise, Riverside).

TIP: About Cooking Beans by Liz Caesar, Food Editor Jun 26 1997. Soak dried
beans in two to three times as much water as beans. Remove any beans that
float and any other debris. Soak overnight and bring to boil in the same
water. Reduce heat and simmer ur til beans are tender.

If you have forgotten to soak overnight cover beans with cold water, bring
to boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Let stand tightly covered for 1 hour
before cooking until tender but not mushy. One test for done ness is to
blow on a few of your cooked beans in a spoon. If the skins burst, they are
cooked.

Posted by PAThanneman, Riverside, CA 6/27/97

Recipe by: The Broadway Department Store, California Posted to Kitmailbox
by Kitchen PATh phannema@wizard.ucr.edu on Jun 26, 1997