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At the request of my 13-year-old daughter, Sophia, I made black bean soup tonight. I should say, "I made black bean soup for tonight" because I've actually been working on it since last night.

I wrote a while ago about being a canned beans kinda girl. They're just so easy, especially if you don't want to have to plan your dinner a day or two in advance. But I'm getting away from canned items as much as possible now, so for this soup I used dried beans.

I started soaking them last night before I went to bed. I started cooking the soup this afternoon. So the beans soaked a good 16 hours or so. They were still really firm after that time, and, even after simmering in the soup for an hour, they were still not overly soft. I think if I had wanted to use them for a bean salad, I could have soaked them overnight then simmered them for about an hour and ended up with beans that were soft enough for salad without being squishy. I'll have to try that with Owen's favorite bean salad one day. (Wow. Just realized I haven't posted that one yet.)

So, these beans in the soup, after simmering for something like two hours, ended up delightfully squishy. For a creamy soup, I think squishy beans are best. Alright, maybe not exactly squishy. Squishable, then. You're going to use a hand blender in the soup briefly at the end. I find it produces the results I want better than using a potato or bean masher. I leave the soup rather chunky -- with clear bites of beans and veggies -- but I want it mostly to be creamy. Sort of. I want it to be clearly a soup, not just a bowl of beans. How's that?

I serve the soup with some rice (I like brown, the kids like basmati). But, you know, you don't have to worry about the whole "complete protein" thing, if you're vegetarian/vegan. Remember when the books and nutritionists would tell you that you had to combine rice and beans (i.e., grain and legumes) in the same meal in order to get a complete protein (a protein containing all the "essential" amino acids that our bodies don't make on their own)?

Turns out you can forget it. You just need a variety of foods over the course of the day, not necessarily in every meal. So you can have your oatmeal in the morning and your beans at lunch or dinner and be good.

I served rice here because my family complains when I serve soup solo for a meal. Freaks.

Vegan Creamy Black Bean Soup -- prep time: total 24 hours, active 40 min., simmering 2 hours; serves a bunch (8- 10 big servings)

Ingredients

1 lb. dry black beans (soaked overnight)

1 onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 large carrots, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

1 large banana, finely chopped

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine (optional)

6 cups vegetable broth

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 cups thick cashew cream

juice from 2 limes

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

(Assuming you've picked through, rinsed, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed again the black beans. If you haven't, please do so now!)

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.

Sauté onions for 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until you can smell the garlic -- not on your hands, but in the pot. Add the dry vermouth and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the carrots, celery, bell pepper and banana. Stir well and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the beans and vegetable broth. Stir in chipotle powder, coriander and cumin. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 2 hours, checking and stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat. Squish some of the beans and any bananas you see with the back of your spoon. Stir in thick cashew cream. Use a hand blender to process the soup ever so briefly. Don't liquify it or purée it too much -- unless you really want it smooth and creamy. I like to be able to see that the soup has black beans in it. I just want it soft and creamy, too.

Taste the soup. Now stir in the lime juice and taste again. Isn't that fantastic?

Add salt and pepper as desired. 

Serve with rice, some raw bell pepper, chopped chives, vegan sour cream and/or chopped avocado.

 

Enjoy!