Recipe - Pinto Bean Soup With Fresh Salsa

1 One half cup Pinto beans; dried
7 cup Water
One fourth cup Vegetable oil
2 Yellow onions; minced
1 teaspoon Salt
One half teaspoon Freshly ground pepper
4 Cloves garlic; minced
6 cup Vegetable broth, chicken
broth or water

SALSA
3 Plum tomatoes, minced ; (ripe
Romas)
One half small Red (Spanish) onion; finely
minced
One fourth cup Fresh cilantro; coarsely
chopped
1 Limes; juiced
Salt and pepper
Sour cream or Crema

Sort through the beans and discard any misshapen beans or stones. Rinse
well. Place the beans in a saucepan and add the water. Bring to a boil,
reduce the heat to mediumlow, cover and simmer until the smallest bean is
cooked through and

creamy inside, about 1 One half hours. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the vegetable oil. Add the
onions, salt and pepper and saute until the onions are lightly browned,
about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 12 minutes longer. Add the
beans and their liquid and the stock or water. Bring to a boil, reduce the
heat to medium and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans
start to break apart, 2030 minutes. Remove the beans from the heat and let
cool slightly.
Meanwhile, make the salsa: In a bowl, stir together the tomatoes, onion,
cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate
until you are ready to serve.
Working in batches, transfer the bean mixture to a blender and puree until
smooth. Transfer the puree to a clean saucepan and reheat over low heat,
stirring frequently, until hot. (If not serving immediately, keep warm over
very low heat, stirring often.)
Ladle the soup into warmed shallow bowls and top each serving with a
spoonful of salsa and a dollop of crema or sour cream.
Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken (1996). Cantina: Best of Casual
Mexican Cooking. Sunset Books, CA. Part of a series: Casual Cuisines of the
World. [Mastercook 16 Oc 96: Submitted by PATh: 445 cals/14 g fat]
Recipe By : Feniger and Milliken: Cantina (1996)

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #249

Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 09:29:47 0700 (PDT)

From: PatH phannema@wizard.ucr.edu

NOTES : Despite its creamy taste, this simply prepared soup is surprisinly
low in fat. Cantinas might make this soup out of yesterday's beans.