Vegan Black Bean Soup Recipe

Rich Delicious Black Bean Soup from Natural Vegan Kitchen

Black Bean Soup Recipe: Earthy black bean soup, seasoned with cumin and the mild heat of jalapeño chile. This flavorful soup will delight the pickiest eaters.

The Natural Vegan Kitchen Cookbook by Christine Waltermyer is macrobiotic based.

Christine's recipes are hearty, balanced and nutritious, with simple, fresh ingredients, liberal use of seaweed, low sodium, low fat - e.g. this rich delicious black bean soup.

Total prep & cook time: 50 min

6 Servings

Nutrition Data Per Serving: 251 Calories, 14g protein, 2g fat, 41g carbs, 17g fiber, 237mg sodium, low saturated fat, cholesterol, good source Vit C, Iron, Potassium, Copper, very good source of fiber, Vit A and Folate. Estimated Glycemic Load 16.

Ingredients:

• 1 (2-inch) piece dried Kombu (kelp) seaweed
• 2 cups dried black beans soaked for 6 to 12 hours in water to cover
• 4 cups water as needed
• 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil or other oil
• 1 cup diced onion

• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced jalepeño chile
• 1 clove garlic minced (1 teaspoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 cups vegetable broth (unsalted)
• 2 cups seeded and diced fresh tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon cayanne (optional)
• ground black pepper
• tofu sour cream for garnish
• minced fresh chives or scallions for garnish

Directions:

1. Put the kombu in a medium saucepan
2. Drain the beans and put them in the sauce pan on top of the Kombu
3. Add enough of the water to cover the beans by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, skimming off any foam that accumulates at the surface
4. Boil for 10 minutes, continuing to remove any foam. Decrease the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, or until the beans are soft. Occasionally add a small amount of cold water, as needed, to keep the beans covered while they are cooking
5. Warm the oil with 2 tablespoons of water in a medium soup pot over medium heat
6. Add the onion, bell pepper, chile, garlic, and a pinch of the salt and cook and stir for 5 minutes
7. Add the carrot, celery, cumin, chili powder, and another pinch of the salt and cook and stir for 5 minutes
8. Add the beans, broth, tomatoes, remaining salt, optional cayenne, and pepper to taste
9. If needed, add a little more broth to achieve the desired consistency. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
10. Decrease the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes
11. If a thicker soup is desired, blend half the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.
12. Serve hot, garnished with a dollop of tofu sour cream and a sprinkling of chives.

Recipe Tips:

Black Bean Slow Cooker Directions: After soaking, boiling & skimming the foam, drain beans and add to cooker with cold water to cover. Cover and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours, just until tender. Add 1/4 tsp salt to keep the beans from splitting and breaking apart when cooking.

Toxin in Black Beans: Black beans, red and white kidney (cannellini) beans contain the toxin phytohennagglutenin. Red kidney beans contain the highest amount. You can get rid of the toxin, through long soaking (12 - 24 hours), with 2 or 3 changes of water, then boiling the beans for 10 - 15 minutes before adding to the crockpot. It's a good idea to preheat the crockpot on high before adding the beans. More info on cooking black beans without toxins. Also watch our video, Basic Bean Cooking (with Kidney Beans and Black Eyed Peas) and see our basic bean cooking recipe

We had a hard time deciding which Natural Vegan Kitchen recipes to feature, but our fondness for black bean soup won out. Everybody, even our most severe testers - The Grandchildren - loved it. They also loved the simple & delicious White Beans and Greens.

For this black bean soup recipe, we used canned diced tomatoes, as fresh tomatoes in the February midwest are pathetic and expensive. We substituted cilantro for chives as a garnish, and added a squeeze of lime juice - maybe not so macriobiotic, but sympatico with the latin origins of black bean soup.

We reduced the salt to 1/2 tsp in this recipe and used unsalted vegetable broth. Reduce sodium further by eliminating added salt and using unsalted canned tomatoes. Celery and kombu are high sodium vegetables.

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