Brazilian Black Bean Soup

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 cups black beans
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups onions, chopped (about 1.5 large onions)
• 10 medium garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 2 -2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 1 medium bell pepper, diced
• 1 1/2 cups orange juice
• black pepper
• cayenne
• 2 diced tomatoes (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• cilantro (optional)
• salsa (optional)

Recipe

• 1 soak beans in plent of water for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight).
• 2 place the soaked beans in a kettle or dutch oven with 4 cups water. bring to a boil, cover and simmer until tender (about 1.25 hours).
• 3 heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet. add chopped onion, 5 crushed cloves garlic, cumin, salt, and carrot.
• 4 saute over medium heat until the carrot is just tender. add the rest of the crushed garlic and diced bell pepper. saute until everything is very tender (10-15 mins). add the sauteed mixture to the beans, scraping out every last morsel.
• 5 stir in orange juice, black pepper and cayenne to taste, and diced tomatoes (optional).
• 6 puree all or some of the soup in a blender and return to kettle. simmer over very low heat 10-15 mins more. serve topped with an artful arrangement of sour cream, cilantro and salsa.