We developed an Easy Button version of our black bean soup. Dump in the ingredients and leave it alone.In terms of prep, you’ll need to plan ahead a bit. As with most bean dishes, you’ll do an overnight soak of the beans, and the cook time is not the most predictable – depending on the beans, you may be cooking for 8 hours or 11. For me, the hands-off nature of the slow cooker prep is worth the potential wait.
A single batch fits perfectly in our 8-quart slow cooker.
This is a lovely one-pot meal, or you can serve with quesadilla wedges for the dunking. Either way, this is an easy, healthy, hearty dinner that makes fantastic leftovers, as well. It freezes beautifully, though the leftovers rarely make it to the freezer before disappearing into lunch boxes.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound black beans, rinsed and separated (remove debris and broken beans)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1-2 ribs celery, chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 1 can chopped green chiles
- A 28-oz. can pureed tomatoes
- 4 cups stock (vegetable or chicken), divided
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Juice of 1 lime
- Soak the beans overnight (I do it right in the crockpot).
- Drain the beans in the a.m.
- Add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, chiles, tomatoes, and spices.
- Add 2 cups stock and just enough water to cover the beans. Add a pinch or two of salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Stir.
- Turn the slow cooker to high heat and walk away.
- Start checking beans after 8 hours. You’re looking for a nice soft texture that mashes easily. In our slow cooker, it usually takes about 9 hours. If your day takes you away from the house for 12+ hours, you can cook it on lower heat.
- Puree the soup in batches using an immersion/stick blender if you have one (a stick blender makes this simple recipe even easier, and it cuts way down on the dish-washing load), or in the blender or food processor.
- Add stock gradually, stirring to incorporate completely before adding more, until the desired consistency is reached.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. You will probably need to add more salt.
- Stir in the lime juice just before serving.
The Reluctant Hippie 