Black Bean Soup with Tomato-Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients

Soup

  • 1 pound dried black beans
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 large onions, finely diced
  • 4–6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 cups cold water
  • 1 cup peeled, seeded, and chopped tomato (fresh or canned)
  • 1 small sprig fresh or dried epazote (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon finely-chopped canned chipotle chile (or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin seed
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoons salt

Salsa

  • 1 large tomato, finely diced
  • 3 medium tomatillos, husks removed and finely diced
  • 1 small red onion, very finely diced
  • 1 serrano or jalapeño chile, very finely diced
  • ¼ cup roughly-chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • Salt, to taste
  • Crème fraîche or sour cream, for garnish
Black Bean Soup with Tomato-Tomatillo Salsa

Photo: Stephanie from Austin TX / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

Procedure

Soup

  1. Pick over the beans to remove any debris. Soak if desired and drain.
  2. In a deep, heavy-based pot, heat oil over medium heat.
  3. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
  4. Add beans, garlic and water.
  5. Bring to a boil, skimming any foam that rises to the surface.
  6. Reduce to a simmer and when the beans are soft, after about 1 hour, add tomato, epazote, chipotle chile, cumin, coriander and salt.
  7. Cook until the beans start to break down and broth begins to thicken.
  8. Taste for seasoning; add salt and pepper if needed.

Salsa

  1. In a small bowl, combine tomato, tomatillo, onion, jalapeño and cilantro.
  2. Taste for seasoning and add salt as needed.

Serving

  1. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls.
  2. Garnish each with a spoonful of crème fraîche and salsa.

Notes, tips, and variations

  • If you’re serving this soup immediately, you can thicken it by pureeing a cup or two of the beans in a blender or food processor and then recombining them with the rest of the soup. If refrigerated overnight, the soup will thicken on its own.
  • The salsa will taste best if assembled no more than an hour before serving.
  • Epazote is an herb that looks like a weed and is regularly used in Mexican cooking. If you can’t find it, use an equal amount of cilantro.
  • Tomatillos look like rock hard tomatoes with papery skin. Look for them canned in the Hispanic section of your market, if you can’t find fresh. They will be perfectly acceptable.
  • Crème fraîche is similar to sour cream, but richer. Look for it in the fancy cheese section.