It's"Tasty Tuesday" time!
Hello!
Now that I've recovered (somewhat) from the madness called NaNoWriMo, it's time for yet another "Tasty Tuesday" recipe!
This week's recipe is one that I made this past weekend... Black Bean Soup! I had originally planned to make Navy Bean Soup, but when I got started on it, I couldn't find my bag of navy beans! Go figure!! So... I checked the pantry and found a bag of black beans. With those beans in hand, I went in search of a recipe that called for black beans, and I found one in "Laurel's Kitchen Recipes" -- my second "go to" cookbook. In the mood for soup, I actually made it -- even though it didn't use the crockpot (my favorite way to make soup. I'm happy to report that my first attempt at making soup on the stove turned out quite well. Delicious, in fact.
Without further ado, here's the recipe for Black Bean Soup:
1 1/2 cups black beans (I used an entire package of black beans, increasing the amount of water)
6 cups water (I used 8 cups of water to take into consideration the additional beans)
1 onion
2 large cloves of garlic (I used an equivalent amount of pre-minced garlic)
2 stalks celery
1 potato
1 carrot
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon savory (I didn't have any of this, so I omitted it. Tbh... I don't even know what it is)
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper (I think I forgot to add the pepper. I'm not much of a "pepper person")
2 lemons (I didn't have any lemons on hands, so I was planning to use lemon juice. Forgot to add it)
Wash the beans and put them in a saucepan along with the water. Cover loosely, bring to a boil, and simmer for 2 1/2 hours or so, until beans are quite tender.
Meantime, chop the onion and saute in the oil with garlic until soft. Crush the garlic. Chop the celery, including the leaves. Dice potato and carrot or grate on large grater. (I decided to grate the potatoes when I made my pot of soup.) Add celery, potato, and carrot to onion and heat for several minutes, stirring all the while.
Add the vegetables to the beans, along with the seasonings, in the last hour of their cooking. Bring the soup to a boil and lower the heat to simmer until the beans and vegetables are done. Puree half or all the soup if you want a thick, hearty broth. (I was thinking about pureeing some of it -- and I even dug out my blender -- but I ended up not doing that this time. Maybe the next time.)
Juice one lemon and slice the other. Stir in juice and add slices just before serving.
Makes about 9 cups, to serve 6. (Since it's just me right now, I've been eating Black Bean Soup for dinner every night since I first made it. I discovered that it thickens a great deal in the refrigerator, so one evening, I served it over macaroni, and it was delicious that way, too.
There you have it. Laurel's recipe for Black Bean Soup. I liked the way mine turned out (with my changes written within the parentheses), but I'd love to hear how your batch of Black Bean Soup turned out for ya. So... Please take a moment to leave me a comment. Thanks!
Now that I've recovered (somewhat) from the madness called NaNoWriMo, it's time for yet another "Tasty Tuesday" recipe!
This week's recipe is one that I made this past weekend... Black Bean Soup! I had originally planned to make Navy Bean Soup, but when I got started on it, I couldn't find my bag of navy beans! Go figure!! So... I checked the pantry and found a bag of black beans. With those beans in hand, I went in search of a recipe that called for black beans, and I found one in "Laurel's Kitchen Recipes" -- my second "go to" cookbook. In the mood for soup, I actually made it -- even though it didn't use the crockpot (my favorite way to make soup. I'm happy to report that my first attempt at making soup on the stove turned out quite well. Delicious, in fact.
Without further ado, here's the recipe for Black Bean Soup:
1 1/2 cups black beans (I used an entire package of black beans, increasing the amount of water)
6 cups water (I used 8 cups of water to take into consideration the additional beans)
1 onion
2 large cloves of garlic (I used an equivalent amount of pre-minced garlic)
2 stalks celery
1 potato
1 carrot
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon savory (I didn't have any of this, so I omitted it. Tbh... I don't even know what it is)
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper (I think I forgot to add the pepper. I'm not much of a "pepper person")
2 lemons (I didn't have any lemons on hands, so I was planning to use lemon juice. Forgot to add it)
Wash the beans and put them in a saucepan along with the water. Cover loosely, bring to a boil, and simmer for 2 1/2 hours or so, until beans are quite tender.
Meantime, chop the onion and saute in the oil with garlic until soft. Crush the garlic. Chop the celery, including the leaves. Dice potato and carrot or grate on large grater. (I decided to grate the potatoes when I made my pot of soup.) Add celery, potato, and carrot to onion and heat for several minutes, stirring all the while.
Add the vegetables to the beans, along with the seasonings, in the last hour of their cooking. Bring the soup to a boil and lower the heat to simmer until the beans and vegetables are done. Puree half or all the soup if you want a thick, hearty broth. (I was thinking about pureeing some of it -- and I even dug out my blender -- but I ended up not doing that this time. Maybe the next time.)
Juice one lemon and slice the other. Stir in juice and add slices just before serving.
Makes about 9 cups, to serve 6. (Since it's just me right now, I've been eating Black Bean Soup for dinner every night since I first made it. I discovered that it thickens a great deal in the refrigerator, so one evening, I served it over macaroni, and it was delicious that way, too.
There you have it. Laurel's recipe for Black Bean Soup. I liked the way mine turned out (with my changes written within the parentheses), but I'd love to hear how your batch of Black Bean Soup turned out for ya. So... Please take a moment to leave me a comment. Thanks!