Ingredients for Bean Preparation:
5 cups of water (may need a little extra)
1 pound (2 ½ cups) of dried black beans
1 ham hock
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for Soup:
3 tablespoons of oil
2 large onions chopped
1 large carrot chopped
3 celery ribs chopped
½ teaspoon salt
5-6 garlic cloves minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 ½ tablespoon ground cumin
6 cups of chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
Instructions:
- First you will want to prepare your dried beans. There are different methods on dried bean preparation. I put my beans in a pot, covered with water and let soak for about 6 hours.
- Then I added the other ingredients listed above in the bean preparation section and brought it to a boil over medium-high heat.
- After reaching a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer about 1 ½ hours (until beans are tender).
- Take out the bay leaves.
- To make the soup, put oil in a pot, heating to medium-heat and add onions, carrot, celery and salt. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are soft – around 10-15 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, pepper flakes and cumin, stirring constantly about 2-5 minutes.
- Stir in beans with liquid, and chicken broth, increasing heat back up to medium-high and bring to a boil. After reaching a boil, reduce to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.
- If you want to thicken the soup, take 1 ½ cup of beans and 2 cups of the liquid and put in a blender. Return to soup. Combine the cornstarch and water and add to the soup.
- Time to eat! Serve with a dollop of sour cream!
