black beans Archives - Casa Bouquet

Black bean soup is a favorite Caribbean dish, along with black beans and rice. I like to honor my mama’s culture by making Nicaraguan recipes, and black bean soup is a must!

You will need a large pot, knife, cooking spoon, immersion blender, measuring cups and spoons.

Instructions

Open the cans of beans. Do not drain.

Chop the bacon and sweet peppers.

Heat the pot with 1 tbsp water over high heat. When water boils, add olive oil and bacon. Lower the heat to medium high and sauté bacon for 1 or 2 minutes.

Add the peppers and cook until limp.

Add garlic and onion flakes.

Add beer, vinegar, and hot sauce. Add ½ cup water. Bring to a boil.

Add 3 cans of beans and juice. Add cumin, oregano, and season with part of the garlic/salt/pepper mix. Stir and bring to a boil.

Turn off the heat. Use the immersion blender to make the soup smooth.

Turn the heat to medium high and add the 4^thcan of beans. Add the remainder of the garlic/salt/pepper mix. Bring to a boil.

Makes approximately six 1-cup servings

Serve with brown rice, annatto rice, Cuban bread or baguette. You may want to provide hot sauce, vinegar, or sherry pepper sauce to top each serving.

Tips: 1. I use Paula Deen’s house mix: 4 tsp salt, 2 tsp granulated garlic powder, 3 tsp black pepper. Adobo seasoning also works. 2. For beers, try Red Stripe, Tecate, or Modelo. 3. Green peppers are fine in this recipe, but I like to use the mini sweet peppers to get more colors and slightly sweeter taste. 4. If you want to start with dried beans, use 1 lb. of beans, soaked for 6 hours then drained; 4 tbsp olive oil; ½ cup apple cider vinegar; 2 bay leaves. Cover with water to cover plus 1 inch. Simmer for four hours or use slow cooker for 10 hours on low setting.

Black bean soup is a Caribbean style recipe with lots of flavor. Peppers, beer, garlic, bacon, and cumin all blended for savory taste.