This is such a versatile recipe – I hope you like it! The starting point for this recipe was Rosie Daley’s Black Bean and Smoked Chicken Soup. Rosie Daley was Oprah’s healthy chef – and that girl can cook! My recipe has been adapted a bit for our family, and it’s just so versatile that I have been able to feed vegetarians and carnivores alike and both were coming back for more!
Smokey Black Bean Soup
Recipe Type: Lunch or Dinner
Time: Ummm………
Serves: a brood
This is one of those recipes that can take a while. I tend to cook in stages – which allows me to work in laundry, cleaning and meal prep at the same time. I like to start one stage at a time, and by day 2 you have a fabulous soup. However, if you wanted to get it all done in one go, I would say it takes about 2.5 hours, after you’ve soaked the beans. If I am doubling up on my cooking for the week, I will set aside about a third of the beans for the next day and add them to a picadillo for nice texmex style tacos.
Stage 1 Ingredients (beans)
- Black beans (2-3 lbs dry)
- Bay leaves (2-3 leaves)
- 1 onion, cut in half
- Garlic
- Salt
Stage 2 Ingredients (broth)
- 1 head of celery
- A few carrots, with the tops if available
- Bay leaves (2-3 leaves)
- 2-3 onions, cut in half
- 1 bunch of thyme if handy
- Garlic (3-4 cloves)
- Salt
- Optional: Bone in chicken, skin removed (if not doing vegetarian)
Stage 3 Ingredients (protein)
- Chicken or Plain Baked Tofu
- BBQ Sauce
- Oil (grapeseed or coconut)
- Salt and Pepper
- Wood chips if using a smoker
Stage 4 Ingredients (assembly and garnish)
- Approx 1 tsp ground cumin
- Approx 1 tsp ground coriander
- Approx 1 tsp ground oregano
- Salt to taste
- Frank’s Red Hot
- Siracha
- 2 TBS BBQ Sauce
- 2 TSP Tomato Paste
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- Liquid Aminos (approx 1 TBS)
- Cornstarch (2-3 heaping TBS)
- Lowfat Milk (approx 1/2 cup)
- Red Wine to taste (approx 1/2 cup – be reasonable here – lol!)
- Corn Tortillas
- Fat Free Greek Yogurt
- Tomatoes
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Start by cleaning and soaking your beans overnight.
- Once soaked, rinse them and place them in the crockpot. Add 1 whole onion, cut in half and a few bay leaves. I cook my beans in water, though you can use vegetarian or chicken broth. Both come out nicely. Be sure to salt your water – those beans are going to soak it up, so may as well add some flavor along the way.
- While the beans are cooking, I like to make a separate broth. If you have mixed eaters – throw your veggies (onions, celery, and a few carrots) in a stock pot and go to town. Add your if your feeding strictly meat eaters, add bone-in, skinless chicken to your broth – it will give you a mineral boost.
- While your broth and beans are going, it’s time to address your chicken, or if going the vegetarian route, I like to replace the chicken with baked tofu. Take the chicken (or tofu), coat it in a touch of oil with salt and pepper and toss it in the smoker. You know how grilled chicken breast can get dry and stringy when over cooked? Well, not so when using the smoker. No marinading needed either – it comes out so juicy and yummy! Once your chicken or tofu is done, cool it, chop it and set it aside for assembly. Note: If you are using the oven for your protein, I would suggest you add a bit of your favorite BBQ sauce (along with your oil, S&P), then bake it in the oven on a cookie sheet. I will not say for how long – just keep an eye on it. I would bake it low and slow at approx 350 degrees.
- Once your beans, broth and chicken (or tofu) are done, start assembling everything. Get out a fresh stock pot (I apologize for getting EVERY dish in your house dirty) and start with your flavor base. Add about 1 tbs of oil to the pan (ie. grapeseed or coconut), cumin, coriander, 3-4 splatters of Frank’s Red Hot, about a 2-3 sec squeeze of Siracha, 2 cloves worth of garlic paste, dried oregano, salt, liquid aminos, red wine and a bit of tomato paste…and a little BBQ sauce, about 2 TBS. Let the flavors juj a bit (yes – that’s an official word), and then add some of your drained black beans, your protein, and a few cups of the broth you made up. While these flavors are getting happy, take a jar, add in your cornstarch and about a half a cup of low fat milk and shake it like a maraca. Once thoroughly blended, add your cornstarch mixture to your beans and broth…wait a few minutes and taste. If things are way too intense, add more beans and broth. The amount of broth just depends on how ‘soupy’ you like your soup to be. The amount of beans really just depends on how spicy or salty your soup should be. I also like to add a few veggies at this stage (ie diced onions, carrots and celery), but it’s really good as is. If you like, you can add strips of corn tortilla to the soup. No need to heat them up or anything. They soften right up in the broth – it’s soooo good. Now for the garnish….
- I like to take a bit of fat free greek yogurt and season it a bit, maybe just a little salt, pepper and olive oil. This should take a bit of the sharp edge off and replace the sour cream that a lot of people put on their black bean soup. Chop up a bit of tomato and cilantro and top it off. My husband likes cheddar on his soup as well. Equally delicious, albeit a bit more fatty…and voila! You are in business. Serve it with cornbread, or crusty sourdough and a roast chicken if you have lots of mouths to feed.
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