Is that enough beans for you...

While I found a lot of interesting Mexican recipes that I wanted to try for the Monthly mingle this month, I had to stick to one of my favorite dishes- black bean soup! And that is only because I waited till the last minute and had a hard time deciding on what to make....as usual (and I am not even sure if the picture is in focus!)
Well here is the recipe, modified from here

Ingredients
olive oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1-2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp chopped ginger
1½ c. chopped onions (reserve ½ cup for garnish)
½ c. chopped celery
1/3 c. chopped carrots
1/2 cup corn (whole kernel or corn on the cob, when in season)
2 medium jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
3 15-oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained
Vegetable broth
1 15-oz. can chopped fire roasted tomatoes
1 tbsp ground cumin (I added a generous amount)
2 tbsp ground chilli powder
chopped parsley and cilantro
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper

Method

Add oil to a pot. When the oil’s hot, but not smoking, add the cumin seeds, then add chopped onions, celery, carrots, ginger and jalapeños. Add a pinch of salt (I added sea salt) and turmeric, saute the vegetables over medium heat.

When the vegetables are soft, about ten minutes, add the beans, the water or stock, and the tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat, and let it simmer. When everything is very tender, and the soup has begun to thicken, stir in the cumin and chipotle powder.

Remove the pot from the heat, cool it and blend it until it’s creamy but you still see some whole beans (I blended about 3/4th of my soup, I like mine creamy)

Stir in the parsley-cilantro and heat again, stirring often to keep the thickened beans from sinking and sticking to the bottom of the pan. Serve the soup hot, sprinkle of cilantro, and a good squeeze of fresh lime (I forgot to garnish with some nice chopped onions). I also cut up some strips of whole wheat tortillas- spiced it up with some chilli powder, pepper and salt (all in some olive oil), baked the strips at 350F for about 12 minutes (garnished my soup with these crunchies).

I simply love this soup and does everyone else in the house! It is hearty and flavorful (like most mexican foods are...and that is why I love MEXICAN food!). This goes to Monthly mingle-Mexican fiesta hosted by Jenny started by Meeta.

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