A friend of mine has a wonderful cookbook called
"Twelve Months of Monastery Soups" by Brother Victor-Antoine D'Avila-Latourrette. She loves this cookbook so much that she won't even lend it to me. So I took matters into my own hands and put it on my Christmas list. With this cookbook firmly in my own possession I anticipate many delicious soups this winter. I'm only going to post recipes that I modify enough to feel like they are mine (I'm not going to go reprinting other folks recipes), so I still recommend buying the cookbook for yourself. It's just that good of a cookbook.
I came across a recipe called "Quick Mexican Black Bean Soup," which was, really, a whole string of words I love. I changed it around and came up with my Winter Mexican Black Bean Soup. This is a delicious, hearty, and fulfilling soup. I love it. This isn't quite as local as I would want, since I'm using canned black beans and canned tomatoes. But if you have access to local beans that you can soak and cook separately and you canned summer tomatoes yourself, then the soup is plenty local. And there is nothing in this recipe that you can't get in the winter without breaking the bank. Enjoy!
Winter Mexican Black Bean Soup2 tbs olive oil
2 small onions, sliced
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 (14oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 (25oz) can of black beans
6 large red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
7 cups water
1 bouillon cube
2 tbs lime juice
1 tsp coriander
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1) Over medium high heat in a large soup pot, saute the onions, olive oil and salt until the onions start to brown, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for an additional 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2) Add the tomatoes, black beans (with water from the can), potatoes, water and bouillon. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and let cook, covered for 20 minutes.
3) Mix in the lime, coriander, cumin and black pepper. Let cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!