Anyway, Ross has been asking me to try black bean soup again, so tonight I got a bit creative, again with a recipe just as a basic guide. I had made a black bean soup before that wasn't nearly thick enough, but my new food processor helped with that. I also used my basic cubed, sauteed chicken style that shows up pretty often in my food, with some chipotle spices. Any number of veggies would be a great addition to this, and because I'm not particularly fond of chunky soups, I would give them a spin in the food processor too. In fact, one of the recipes I glanced at basically involved a salsa base. I toyed with a few ideas as I went, and ended up with maybe my favorite soup to date.
So, here's the ingredient list for a nice big pot like I made:
3 regular cans black beans (best ever are XXX brand Jalapeno and Lime flavor)
1 large can chili beans
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cubed
several stems of fresh cilantro
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 teaspoons onion powder (or fresh onion if you'd like)
salt, pepper, chili powder, lime juice, sour cream, shredded cheddar to taste
And it's this easy:
Cook in a large pot the chicken with whatever marinade or spice rub you enjoy for a little spice, and when it's cooked through, add half the can of chili beans and one can of black beans. In a food processor, blend another can of black beans with the rest of the chili beans, the onion, garlic and cilantro, then add this thickened bean mixture to the soup. After that, use the last can of black beans to help determine the thickness you would like. For a thinner soup with more whole beans, just add it in. For an even thicker soup, blend it as before. I settled somewhere in the middle, pulsing it once or twice so I wouldn't thin the soup out too much but leaving most of the beans whole, making the soup more appealing to look at. Adjust the spices and lime juice to your liking... You'll likely need plenty of salt and pepper. I would recommend letting the soup simmer for 10 minutes or so before you add any chili powder. My soup ended up a touch spicier than necessary, but still delicious. The longer it simmers, the better the flavors get. Enjoy!
