Sunday's Soup

Happy Sunday Everyone!! I awoke to -25 degrees fahrenheit this morning...COOOOOOOOOLD!!! A perfect day for a hot bowl of soup. 

Over New year's a friend was visiting  We were talking about cooking with sweet potatoes(how boring are we!!) and she told me about a dish that she likes to make with black beans, sweet potatoes and red peppers. Hmmmm, I think this could be the basis for a great soup. So I gave it a try and it is DELICIOUS!!! What I made is full of flavor and so aromatic. Really lovely. I'm calling this soup

The Aroma and Colors of Winter Black Bean Soup

The Ingredients;

1 16 oz. bag of dry black beans

3 tablespoons of olive oil 

2 red bell peppers

1 poblano pepper

1 large purple onion

2 cloves of garlic

3 stalks of celery

4 regular size sweet potatoes or 2 large

2 teaspoons of chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons of oregano

1 teaspoon of cumin

8 cups of water

Cooked Brown Rice

fresh avocado and tomatoes for garnish

Begin by soaking beans overnight. 

Heat oil in pot. Add onions, peppers and celery. Saute until onions are tender. Add garlic. Saute for just a few minutes more to release the flavour of the garlic.

Add beans and sweet potatoes. The colors are so lovely!

Stir well and add water. Since the beans soaked overnight, they will not absorb a lot of water. I would add 6 cups of water and see how soupy the mixture is and then determine if you would like a little more water. Add oregano, chili powder, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a full rolling boil. Reduce heat and cook on low for 2 hours or until beans are tender.
Meanwhile, cook a pot of brown rice.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Top with a scoop of the brown rice and top with fresh avocado and tomatoes. If you like a little spice, chop some jalapeno  peppers and add them to the garnish toppings.

YUM!!! Stir up the soup and enjoy.

If you would like a meat version of this soup, shredded pork would be a nice addition. Just add the cooked pork when you are adding the water.

The soup will freeze well. Just remember that the avocado and tomatoes are a garnish. I would not mix in the rice for freezing as it will absorb the liquid and turn the soup into more of a stew.

Enjoy and stay warm!