Brazilian Black Bean Soup

Moosewood again. This is the recipe that convinced my mother-in-law that even though I use “hippie cookbooks” they still can eat the food I make sometimes. 🙂

1 1/4 hours to prepare. 6-8 servings.

Preliminary: Soak 2 cups dry black beans for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.

Ingredients
2 c dry black beans, soaked
6 c water
1 T olive oil
3 c chopped onion
10 cloves crushed garlic
2 t cumin
2 – 2.5 t salt
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1.5 c orange juice
black pepper
cayenne
2 medium tomatoes, diced
optional toppings: sour cream, cilantro, salsa

1. cook the soaked beans w/ 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until tender (about 1.5 hours)
2. heat olive oil, add onion, 1/2 garlic, cumin, salt, carrots. Saute until the carrot is just tender. Add remaining garlic and bell pepper. Saute until everything is very tender (10-15 minutes more). Add to the beans, scraping in every last morsel.
3. Stir in orange juice, black pepper, cayenne, and tomatoes. Puree some or all in a blender, and return to kettle. Simmer over very low heat for 10-15 minutes. Serve “topped with an artful arrangement of sour cream, cilantro, and salsa.”