Cuban Black Bean Soup

Recipe by: Daisy Martinez | from Daisy Cooks: Latin Flavors That Will Rock Your World

Cookstr

Course: Hot Appetizer, Main Course

Total Time: Under 4 Hours

Skill Level: Easy

Cost: Moderate

Photo by: Joseph De Leo

I like a little heat in my black bean soup, so I add a tiny piece of Scotch bonnet chili pepper. If you don’t, leave it out. This is such a favorite of mine that a bowl of this and a little crusty bread is a meal. I also think of this as my “ice cream sundae” soup: Fill bowls with the soup and let people top them as they like.

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

Black Beans
Two 14½-ounce cans chicken broth
½ cup Sofrito
½ cup canned Spanish-style tomato sauce
3 tablespoons alcaparrado or chopped pimiento-stuffed olives (see Notes)
1 tablespoon fine sea or kosher salt
Healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper
¼ Scotch bonnet or jalapeño pepper (optional)

Toppings (pick whichever you like):

Cooked white rice
Chopped red or white onion
Chopped cilantro
Sour cream
Olive oil
Spicy Pineapple Vinegar (optional)

Directions

1. Make the black beans.

2. Stir the chicken broth, sofrito, tomato sauce, alcaparrado, salt, pepper, and chili pepper into the black beans. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Continue boiling until the soup is nice and thick and has just enough liquid to cover the beans. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes so the beans soak up a little more of the liquid. Serve hot, ladled into warm bowls, and pass the toppings you have prepared.

Notes

Alcaparrado, a mixture of olives, pimientos, and capers sold in bottles, is widely available. There are versions made with pitted and unpittled olives. Go for the pitted version. If you can't find it, substitute an equal amount of coarsely chopped olives suffed with pimientos. Throw in a teaspoon of capers if you like.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Nutrients per serving (% daily value)

This recipe serves 8. Nutritional information does not include Sofrito or any of the toppings. For nutritional information on Sofrito, please follow the link above.

Calories 48kcal (2%)

Calcium 8mg (1%)

Vitamin C 3mg (6%)

Vitamin A 6mcg RAE (0%)

Potassium 171mg

Magnesium 8mg

Protein 3g

Sugar 2g

Fiber 0g

Total Carbohydrate 5g

Cholesterol 3mg (1%)

Sodium 1159mg (48%)