Black Bean Soup

I love Caribbean island food, especially Cuban and Puerto Rican. Jamaican and Trini are great as well, but a bit more fussy and not as soulful to me as Cuban and Puerto Rican. My version of black bean soup developed out of a necessity to have it when I wanted it, but to be able to do it correctly. For that I have to give thanks to my Papa Jack, my Mama, and my Havana born friend Diana. Papa Jack and Mama taught me the fundamentals of cooking with a LOT of love and respect for what you were doing, and to always make enough to share with others. From Diana I learned how to authenticate Cubano specialties like Medianoche (my favorite Cuban sandwich), Ropa Vieja, Picadillo, and black bean soup. Of course, as with all of the things I make, I had to take what I learned and put it through the Brad filter to make it what I wanted it to be - but only after learning the fundamentals. With any home made soup, you should start out with home made stock whenever possible. I have a gallon sized freezer bag that I use to collect vegetable scraps, peelings, and trimmings (onions, carrots, celery leaves and roots, you get the idea) so that I can make stock when I have enough and am in the mood to break out the soup pot. With chicken stock you can make fantastic soups (soothing chicken noodle, light but hearty matzoh ball soup) relatively quick and easy any time from quarts of frozen home made stock. If you keep kosher, you could certainly omit the ham in this and use chicken stock but for my black bean soup, I use smoky pork stock made from slow simmered ham hocks, whole black peppercorns, half an onion, a few lightly crushed whole garlic cloves (skin on), and a few bay leaves. Throw everything into a stock pot, cover with cool water, then bring to a boil. Once you’ve achieved a boil, cut the heat to a simmer and let it go for several hours to infuse the flavors of the meat, herbs, and vegetables into the liquid. While used here for the black bean soup, this stock is also excellent for slow cooking the greens we southerners favor, like turnips and collards. It is also fantastic for cooking other kinds of beans in, like pintos and navy beans. I use it also to make New Orleans style Red Beans & Rice.

ingredients

1 pound dried black beans
4 cloves garlic, peeled & smashed
2 onions, roughly chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves & stems
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon oregano leaves
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1-2 smoked ham hocks (if using)
1 fresh jalapeno, split (optional - I like it spicy)
1 3/4 quarts low-sodium chicken or pork stock, or a combination
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

directions

1
1. Pick through the beans and discard any debris - wash under cold running water. In a food processor, add garlic, onion, bell pepper, and cilantro and puree.
2
2. Set a large pot over medium heat and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot. Add the oregano and cumin. Add vegetable puree and saute until just fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Add beans, ham hock, jalapeno, and stock. Slightly cover and simmer for 2 hours until beans are tender.
3
3. When cooked, take out ham hock. Cut ham meat off the bone, cut into pieces and set aside.
4
4. Using a blender or immersion blender, puree just enough of the beans and stock (about a third of the total pot) to thicken up the soup and bring everything together. Season with salt and pepper and fold ham meat back into the soup.

notes

Cubans vary on the condiments and additions to this soup, but a few tried and true accompaniments are sour cream, a splash of red wine vinegar, diced white or green onions, fresh cilantro, and extra olive oil. Rice, cooked, is good too.

Source: Brad Smith