February 17, 2014

Brazilian Black Bean Soup

For Christmas, my sister and her family sent me several cookbooks.  The cookbooks were different from any I would have ever bought for myself.  Different cooking methods and foods that I typically seek out.  That made these cookbooks fun for me as they are all new recipes!  I sometimes need that little push to break out of my comfort zone and try something new.

One of the new cookbooks is  Moosewood Cookbook.  Very healthy recipes, but don't be scared by that, they are amazing recipes! For my first test, I settled on Brazilian Black Bean soup, it had so much flavor packed in it, I had to try it!! I googled some comments on this recipe, and it was everywhere online, and the reviews all convinced me to make this ASAP!

We loved this soup! I love my winter "warm you up" and "feel good" soups.  As much as this one filled that need, I can tell you that this would also be a delicious soup in the summer.  The orange juice gives it such a bright flavor.  And, the cilantro adds so much to this soup.  The day I went to the store to pick up the cilantro for this soup, I was just amazed at how wonderful the store smelled! Even when I was by the flour picking up my baking supplies, there was such an amazing smell in the store.  I thought maybe I was just REALLY hungry since it was after work. Nope, not the case. The  amazing scent that followed me everywhere, was the cilantro in my shopping cart! I think this is a sign that this snow needs to go away so I can get my garden planted!

So, go on. Get your shopping list made, and make a pot of this soup.  Wait, one more thing.... add a loaf of crusty bread to your shopping list. It will go perfectly with a bowl!



Brazilian Black Bean Soup (Source: The New Moosewood Cookbook)

2 cups dried black beans
4 cups water
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cups onion, chopped
10 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp. cumin
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 carrot, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups orange juice
black pepper
cayenne pepper
Cilantro (optional)
Sour Cream (optional)

Pick through the dried beans and remove any stones or broken beans.  Rinse beans.  In large pot or bowl, cover beans with 3 inches of water.  Cover and let set overnight, or 10 hours.

Drain beans, and add them to dutch oven with four cups of water.  Over medium high heat, bring to a boil, and cover.  Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender, about one and a half hours.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet.  Add onion, 5 crushed garlic cloves, cumin, salt, and carrot.  Saute over medium heat until the carrot is tender.  Add remaining garlic, and the bell pepper.  Saute until all veggies are tender.  Add the veggies to the beans, after they are done cooking.

Stir in orange juice.  Add black pepper, and cayenne pepper, to taste.  Remove from heat, and puree soup with immersion blender.  Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

Serve with cilantro and sour cream.

Enjoy!!

Sharing this recipe at:
In and Out of the Kitchen
Treasure Box Tuesday
Weekend Potluck

14 comments:

  1. Yummy! I am excited to try this. Thank you for sharing.
    Are you receiving snow today?
    We are, we are to receive a total of 6 inches.
    Soup time...to warm up after shoveling. :-)

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    1. Hi, Jan here from the foothills of North Carolina...while we didn't get anymore snow on the 17th we got covered up with 10 inched a week ago tomorrow!! And in spite of 60 degree temps today, we still have probably 4 inches of it still in various areas of our property here, especially in the woods and on our driveway that is a half a mile long. I remember a 16 inch snow very similar to this in 1988 when we moved back to NC from Roanoke, Va. Needless to say, I much prefer snow to ice on power lines and trees as our new home overlooking the lake is built on 18 wooded acres!!

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    2. As for the Brazilian Black Bean Soup, I am looking forward to trying it!! Never thought of orange juice in a soup recipe, but am anxious to try it!!! About how many servings does this make as it's just my husband and I. I would probably have to halve the recipe!!!

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    3. Hi Jan, Thanks for stopping by! I love North Carolina! It's such a beautiful state, and that you had 60 degrees today.... I am jealous! The soup recipe states that it is 6-8 servings, which I would agree with. I did make the full recipe for the two of us, but I LOVE leftovers, and I took a bowl into work to share. So, you could very easily cut it in half, and enjoy it for less meals :)

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  2. I loooove black bean soup! I've never made any with orange juice before so that intrigues me. I bet it does give the soup such a bright flavor. Yum!

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  3. This soup sounds so comforting for winter and I love the addition of orange juice as an ingredient. Thanks for sharing your newest creation. xo

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  4. What thoughtful gifts and I love experimenting with different recipes. This sounds delish and love the photo!

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  5. Kris, I used to cook out of this wonderful cookbook back in the day! Yours is probably a newer edition, though! The Brazilian Black Bean Soup sounds wonderful, and I would definitely add the cilantro! ♥ Thanks for sharing this at Treasure Box Tuesday! :)

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  6. Sounds amazing!!! The orange juice sounds like it would add a great zesty flavor. :)

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  7. i love black beans in all forms, but they don't love me back...i have to really plan ahead when i want to partake of black beans. sorry if that's an overshare. :)

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  8. Mmmm….this soup sounds so warm and comforting! Just what I need right now! :)

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  9. I received the same cookbook for my wedding almost 15 years ago, I still use it almost weekly to this day. Some of the recipes I know by heart and sometimes I just like to refer back to the original ones but it's definitely one to go back to you time and time again.

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  10. I LOVE black beans and black bean soup. I will have to try this fo sho!

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