One of my favorite convenience foods is canned black beans. You can puree them for a dip, add them to impromptu quesadillas or salads, and use them to make this humble yet satisfying soup. Since the canned beans are on the salty side, use low sodium chicken broth.
The soup is subtly seasoned with golden sherry and a little lemon zest. Should you want a more full bodied flavor, omit the sherry and add a sprinkling of chopped jalapeno peppers, and a teaspoon of ground cumin along with the beans in step 1.
Ingredients For Your Black Bean Soup
1. 2 Cans (15 Oz. Each) black beans with their liquid.
2. 1 Can Low Sodium Chicken Broth.
3. 1/4 Cup Fine Diced Sweet Onion.
4. 1 Bay Leaf.
5. Ground Black Pepper.
6. 2 - 3 Tablespoons Golden Sherry.
7. 1/2 Cup Sour Cream.
8. 1 Teaspoon Freshly Grated Lemon Zest.
9. Ground Sea Salt If You Need It.
Place the beans with their liquid and the chicken broth, onion, and bay leaf in a small stock pot. Cook over medium heat to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cover the pot, bring mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and let the flavors blend, for 5 - 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaf. Taste and add 1 tablespoon sherry if needed.
Transfer the soup to a food processor and coarsely puree. Return the soup to the pot and keep warm.
Prepare the lemon cream. Combine the sour cream and lemon zest in a small bowl. Spoon the mixture into a plastic sqeeze bottle if desired.
To serve, ladle the soup into serving bowls and garnish each serving with a dollop of lemon cream or drizzle the lemon cream on top of the soup in squiggles.
Zest In A Flash
The fastest way to zest a lemon, orange, or lime is with a microplane, a sharp grater that resembles a wood file. Scrub the fruit under running water and pat it completly dry. Rub the microplane over the skin and you'll have plenty of zest in 30 seconds or less. Now that's fast.