Black Bean Soup

Eating soups is one of the most comforting foods you can ever eat especially during the colder, winter days as it helps you keep your temperatures at warm. There are a lot of different soups and recipes you can find that match your taste and preference if you want to eat one and most of them can easily be made at home with ingredients fresh from the market.

One of the many exotic soups you can find that is equally delectable and healthy is the black bean soup. This soup is especially poplar in the Latin American region and is made from black turtle bean.

The black turtle bean has a meaty, dense texture and a flavor very similar to that of mushrooms making it a very popular dish among vegetarians. It is used in most Latin American dishes such as Feijoada of Brazil, Moros con Cristianos of Cuba, Gallo Pinto of Costa Rica and Pabellon Criollo of Venezuela.

Black bean soup is a very healthy dish also as it is low on calories yet high on fiber; it contains low cholesterol and saturated fat plus, diabetic people will find comfort knowing that this dish is tagged as diabetic appropriate. So, if you want to eat healthy and would really like to try out this dish, here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of canola oil
1 onion, small, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 cans of 15-ounces black bean, rinsed
3 cups of water
½ cup of prepared salsa, can be store bought or homemade
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lime juice
4 tablespoons sour cream, preferably reduced fat (optional)
2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

What you need to do:

• Heat the canola oil in a medium sauce pan on a medium-high heat until the sauce pan is hot, but not smoking. Then, add chopped onions and cook them until translucent for about 2-3 minutes.

• Add chili powder and cumin and keep on cooking for about 1 more minute.

• Add the beans, salsa, water and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and then simmer for about 10 minutes.

• Next, remove from heat and add lime juice then stir.

• Pour half of the mixture into a blender and begin to puree. After attaining a soft creamy texture, pour back to the remaining grainy mixture and serve with sour cream and/or cilantro if desired.