Black Bean Soup

Adapted slightly from Cooks Illustrated

Serves 6 

 

There won’t be a lot of meat on the ham hock, but it’s worth taking off, and adds a subtle smokey flavor to the soup. There are a bunch of topping options below, but all of them go great with a nice hunk of cornbread. 

 

Beans

1 pound (2 1/4 cups) dried black beans, rinsed and picked through

1 smoked ham hock (about 2/3 pound), rinsed

1 medium green bell pepper, quartered, cored and seeded

3 quarts plus 1 cup water

1 medium onion, minced 

6 medium garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons salt 

 

Sofrito

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, minced

1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded and minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 medium cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin 

 

Finishing the Soup

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons cold water

1 tablespoon lime juice, from one lime

 

 

Topping Options

 

Cilantro, Onion & Sour Cream

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup rough chopped cilantro

1/2 small red onion, minced

Hot pepper sauce

 

Monterrey Jack and Tomato

4 ounces shredded Monterrey Jack

1/2 cup diced tomato

1 minced jalapeño 

 

Avocado and Sour Cream

 

Place beans, ham hock, and bell pepper in a dutch oven or large stock pot. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat to low and skim any “scum” from the surface. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and salt return to a simmer. Partially cover and cook until beans are tender, being sure to test several beans; this will take about two hours. Remove hock from pot, and set aside until cool enough to handle; remove meat from hock, discard bone, skin and fat. Return picked meat to pot. Remove bell pepper quarters.

Start the Sofrito. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and salt; sauté until softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add remaining sofrito ingredients and sauté for an additional minute. To the skillet, add 1 1/2 cups of beans and 2 cups of cooking liquid. Mash beans with a potato masher or fork until smooth. Simmer uncovered over medium heat until liquid is reduced, about 5 minutes. Return mixture to beans. Simmer beans uncovered for 15 minutes to blend flavors.

To finish the soup, mix cornstarch and water together in a small bowl. Stir into soup, and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaves, stir in lime juice and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately with topping(s) of choice.

*Soup can be made up to three days ahead of time (do not add the lime juice) and stored in an airtight container. Re-heat and add lime juice to finish.