Chipotle Black Bean Soup

Whenever I think of black bean soup I'm reminded of my son's comments in preschool.  Upon picking him up we'd ask him how his day went, etc. and ask him what he had for lunch.  It seemed like every day he'd tearfully say,  "I had black bean soup, again".  I'm sure that wasn't the case, but at least it wasn't something like pizza or fried chicken nuggets! 

Black beans are packed full of nutritional value delivering vitamin B, fiber, lower fat content, and protein.  However, I wouldn't suggest this soup for a 4 year old.  One of the ingredients is chipotle peppers which gives the soup a wonderful smokiness flavor to it, not to mention the heat it brings to the dish!   Where I live, we need some warmth after more and more snowy days.  My chipotle black bean soup really hits the spot!

Chipotle Black Bean Soup

2 T olive oil
1/2 c chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 chipotle pepper, minced  I used 2, I'm brave.  These you can get in a small can in the Mexican section of market.
1/2 tsp cumin
1 cup "pretreated" black beans
1/2 of ham bone
3 cups water
1 c chicken broth
cheese and cilantro for garnish

First rinse and sort the beans.  In a pot, add the beans and 3 cups water.  Bring to a boil for two minutes, remove from the heat and cover.  Let them sit for 1 hour, drain the water and rinse again.  Now they are "pretreated".

In a large pot, add the oil, onions, garlic, celery, cumin and chipotle.  Cook for 2 minutes, then add the ham bone and chicken broth.  Cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat.  Add the beans and another 3 cups (new) water.  Bring to a boil for 5 minutes while stirring, reduce the heat to simmer, cover for about 2 hours or until the beans are tender.  Remove the meat from the ham bone.  If you want a heartier soup delete the next step.

To finish off, take some of the beans and liquid (about a cup or so) and place in a blender.  Just pulse quickly to break down the bean but leave a little chunkiness.  Add back into the soup, stir and it's done.  Enjoy!  This soup is even better the next day as most soups are.

For a shortcut, you can use canned black bean, but rinse well.  The flavor won't be as intense but if you're in a hurry, it'll do.  For the "easy" version, please email me. 

For you vegetarians out there, use vegetable broth instead of chicken and try liquid smoke to flavor the beans instead of the ham bone.