Black Bean Soup with Sherry

My experience with making BLACK BEAN soup has always started with canned black beans, but recently, with the coming of cold weather, I began to think of all the hearty, thick winter soups we like. It seemed time to do the right thing and start from scratch with dried black beans.

A further incentive was the limitation of my husband’s diet. Mr. What’s-For-Lunch is not supposed to eat salt, and canned beans come with their own pre-packed salt quota. Working with dried beans, however, meant planning ahead. Unlike split peas and lentils, black beans need to be soaked, and even after soaking, they require considerable cooking.

Back to the salt issue. Many recipes call for ham or bacon with black beans, but my preference is always to substitute pancetta. So this recipe uses pancetta as a way to add flavor to the vegetables. By pureeing part of the soup, the entire result has a thick, creamy texture. Sour cream can dress up the bowl when you serve, but isn’t required.

Ingredients

2 cups dried black beans

1 large onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped fine

1 stalk celery, chopped fine

1-2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped (depending on size and your spice tolerance)

2 large cloves garlic

6 cups stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable)

4 oz. pancetta

1/8 tsp. thyme

2 bay leaves

1/3 cup dry sherry

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro or 1 Tbsp cilantro pesto

Directions

1. Soak beans overnight or for 3 hours.
2. Add Thyme and Bay Leaves and cook with just enough water to cover beans until they are tender. (This will depend on soaking time.)
3. Chop pancetta. In a separate pot, cook pancetta but do not brown,
4. Add garlic, onion, carrot, and celery. Cook until vegetables are soft.
5. When the beans are tender, add them to the vegetables, along with the stock, sherry, and cilantro. Cook for 10 minutes.
6. Remove bay leaves. Take three cups of the soup and puree. Return puree to pot.