BACKBlack Bean Soup with Mango Relish February 2014
This Cuban-style soup is also delicious served with rice: Unmold a ramekin of cooked rice into a shallow soup bowl, pour the soup around, and top the rice with the mango relish.
Ingredients
Mango Relish
- 1 mango, peeled and finely diced
- ½ red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ bunch scallions, white and tender green portions only, thinly sliced
- ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped cilantro
- Juice of 1 lime
Black Bean Soup
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- ½ Spanish onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup black beans, soaked overnight
- 10 ½ cups vegetable stock, canned or homemade, plus extra for thinning soup
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Mango Relish
- In a small nonreactive bowl, combine all ingredients.
- Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Black Bean Soup
- In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.
- Add bacon, onion, and garlic; sauté until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in cumin and cook a few seconds more.
- Add dried beans, stock, vinegar, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until beans are tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool slightly.
- With a slotted spoon, remove some black beans and reserve for garnish. Transfer remaining contents of saucepan in batches to a blender. Puree until smooth, adding additional stock if soup is too thick.
- Reheat and adjust seasoning, adding black pepper.
- Spoon into soup bowls and garnish with mango relish and reserved whole cooked black beans.
