Black Bean Soup

This is...hands down...my favorite soup. Even my husband loves it and my kids, a picky four year old, and older baby will eat some.

This is from my favorite cookbook: The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
but modified to fit how I cook it, plus pictures.

Serves 6 to 8
Prep time: 15 minutes, Total time: 50 minutes

1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded and minced
6 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp. chili powder
dash of cayenne pepper or "red ground pepper"
4 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
salt to taste
limes weges (opt - but I LOVE it with it so I wouldn't dream of leaving it out)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro (opt)

Heat oil in Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat until shimmering. Cook onion, jalapeno and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in chili powder and red pepper. Cook for about 1 minute.
Rinse beans. Add beans, broth, salt, and 1 1/2 cups of water to pot. Bring to simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
Blend three cups of soup in blender until smooth. Sorry for lack of picture. This part is a little tricky. The hot soup creates a lot of pressure in the blender and can make a mess. I have had this soup pop the lid off by sheer pressure build up even with me pushing down on the top. Unless you have a vitamix, be sure to adjust the lid to release the steam as you blend.
Add mixture back to the soup and add remaining 1/2 cup of water if necessary.
Off heat, season the soup with lime wedges and salt. You can also add cilantro, avocado, and sour cream.

Add some yummy cornbread or tortillas...I made squash cornbread casserole... and you have a light vegetarian meal.

We ended the night with a virgin pina colada shake also from this blog. Click here.

enjoy!