Black-bean Soup With Avocado Salsa

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 6 cups drained and rinsed canned black beans (three 19-ounce cans)
• 4 cups canned low sodium chicken broth or 4 cups homemade stock
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 2 avocados, preferably hass, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
• 6 radishes, halved and sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons lime juice

Recipe

• 1 combine 3 cups of the beans and 1 cup of chicken broth in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
• 2 in a large saucepan, heat the oil over moderate heat.
• 3 add the onion and 1 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
• 4 increase the heat, add the sherry, and boil until reduced to approximately 1/4 cup, about 3 minutes.
• 5 add the bean puree, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper, and the remaining 3 cups of chicken broth and 3 cups of beans.
• 6 simmer until hot, about 5 minutes.
• 7 meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the avocados, cilantro, radishes, lime juice, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
• 8 mix gently.
• 9 spoon the soup into bowls and top with the salsa.
• 10 *if the radishes aren't perfectly crisp, soak them in a bowl of ice water. a few minutes of shock may be just enough to revive them.
• 11 ** with this black-bean soup, a dry amontillado is a natural.