Black Bean Soup
Serves 2
Cooking Time 6 to 7 hours on Low or 4 to 5 hours on High
Slow Cooker Size 3½ to 7 Quarts
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Black bean soup should be thick, hearty, and full of flavor. Unfortunately, most
black bean soups from a slow cooker come out watery and bland. Keeping in mind that
this was a scaled-down soup for two, we vowed to up the flavor while ensuring that
it was a snap to pull together. Though we often call for salt-soaking beans to encourage
their skins to remain intact during cooking, we found we could bypass that step here;
a few burst beans would only contribute to the thick, rich texture we were after.
A few slices of bacon added to the slow cooker infused our soup with smoky, savory
depth; a good amount of chili powder provided some heat. Coating the inside of the
slow cooker with vegetable oil spray before adding the ingredients prevented our scaled-down
dish from sticking and burning. For more body and thickness, we mashed some of the
cooked beans and stirred them back into the finished soup. Serve with minced red onion,
sour cream, and hot sauce. See the sidebar that follows the recipe.
|
1 |
cup chopped onion |
|
1 |
tablespoon vegetable oil |
|
1 |
tablespoon minced garlic |
|
2 |
teaspoons chili powder |
|
1½ |
cups chicken broth |
|
1 |
cup water |
|
¾ |
cup dried black beans, picked over and rinsed |
|
3 |
slices bacon |
|
1 |
celery rib, cut into ½-inch pieces |
|
1 |
carrot, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces |
|
|
Salt and pepper |
|
1 |
tablespoon minced fresh cilantro |
1. Lightly spray inside of slow cooker with vegetable oil spray. Microwave onion, oil, garlic, and chili powder in bowl, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to prepared slow cooker. Stir in broth, water, beans, bacon, celery, carrot, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cover and cook until beans are tender, 6 to 7 hours on low or 4 to 5 hours on high.
2. Discard bacon. Transfer ½ cup of bean mixture to bowl and mash with potato masher until mostly smooth. Stir mashed bean mixture into soup and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. (Adjust soup consistency with extra hot broth as needed.) Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.