Quick Black Bean Soup

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 11 mins Cook Time: 19 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth (swanson natural goodness)
• 6 ounces chorizo sausage
• 1 medium onion (about 1 c. chopped)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 (15 ounce) cans black beans
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced

Recipe

• 1 dice the chorizo. chop the onion. stem, seed, and chop the red pepper. put the onion and red pepper in a food processor (standard blade). (if you are really good with a knife you could do the vegetables in step 4 before the garlic, but i am not quite that good and it makes me feel rushed.).
• 2 bring the broth to a boil, covered, in a large saucepan and set aside.
• 3 meanwhile, cook the chorizo in a large dutch oven over medium heat until browned and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes.
• 4 while the chorizo cooks, use a large knife to flatten the garlic and remove the skins. (it doesn't matter how forcefully you do this - the garlic can be in pieces.) add the garlic to the food processor. pulse until finely minced, 20 to 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. (remove the puree to a bowl if you are not finished with step 3.) don't wash the processor yet! you still need it.
• 5 stir the processed vegetables and the salt into the dutch oven and cook until the vegetables are dry and beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
• 6 meanwhile, drain and rinse the beans. puree 4 cups of the beans and the water together in the food processor until smooth.
• 7 stir the oregano, cumin, and cayenne into the dutch oven and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. (i have made this once without cayenne and once with - it adds a small kick and i do recommend it.) stir in the broth, pureed beans, and remaining whole beans. bring to a simmer and cook until the whole beans have warmed through, about 5 minutes.
• 8 meanwhile, mince the cilantro if you haven't already. add it just before serving.
• 9 this soup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 days or frozen for 1 month. i have not done either of these yet, so if you try it you would have to experiment with reheating methods.