Recipe - Black Bean Soup Sopa De Frijoles Negroes

1 pound Black beans
1 White onion; peeled and
halved
4 Epazote sprigs; or 2 rounded
1 tablespoon Dried; or 1 small bunch of
Cilantro; tied
2 tablespoon Vegetable oil
2 Jalapeno or serrano chiles;
stemmed and chopped
1 lg White onion; chopped
6 Cloves garlic; chopped
1 tablespoon Cumin seed
1 Tomato chopped
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
8 Grinds of black pepper
4 Limes; quartered
1 One half cup Crema *; creme fraiche, or
Sour cream

Pick through the beans for pebbles, then rinse.

Put the beans in a pot with 10 cups of water. Add the halved onion and
epazote or cilantro and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer,
covered, for 1 hour.

Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the chiles with the chopped onion,
garlic, and cumin seed until golden brown. Add the tomato and
continue to cook for 3 minutes.

Remove the onion and herbs from the beans and discard. Add the sauteed
onion mixture to the beans. If you especially like the flavor of
epazote of cilantro, add additional chopped leaves or 1 tablespoon of
dried and bring the beans to a boil, then simmer, uncovered, for 10
minutes. Add salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime into the
soup and taste for seasoning. To serve, spoon a dollop of crema stop
each bowl of soup. Serve with plenty of lime wedges.

Variation: Black bean soup may be served as a puree. cool the soup to
warm, then, in batches, pour it into a blender or processor and
puree. If you'd like, blend the crema with the beans. reheat to a
simmer.

* Crema recipe entered separately

Per serving: 2002 Calories (kcal); 36g Total Fat; (15% calories from
fat); 105g Protein; 339g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 5688mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 19 Grain(Starch); 5 One half Lean Meat; 4 One half Vegetable; 2
Fruit; 5 One half Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Recipe by: Meatless Mexican Home Cooking ~ Nancy Zaslavsky

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