Black Bean Soup With Cilantro Crema

By Chez_Alexander

This economical, vegetarian, and diet-friendly soup starts with a bag of dried black beans that are simmered in a mixture of tomato paste, garlic, and onion. After the beans are cooked, blend the mixture to make it creamy. Top with garlicky cilantro crema Mexicana and chopped egg.

Ingredients

• VERY IMPORTANT!!! BEANS MUST SOAK FOR 6-8 HOURS BEFORE STARTING RECIPE!!!
• BLACK BEAN SOUP
• 1 cup dried black beans
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• Kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
• CILANTRO CREMA
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• 1/2 Jalapeno pepper, seeded, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup crema Mexicana or sour cream

Preparation

Step 1

BLACK BEAN SOUP

1. Sort and wash beans and place in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water and let stand for 8 hours. Drain beans.

2. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, cook 4 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic cloves, cook one minute. Increase heat to medium-high. Add beans, broth, water, tomato paste, cumin, red pepper, green chiles, and salt to taste; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until beans are tender. Let stand 10 minutes.

3. Place half of bean mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blander lid and secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid. Process until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining mixture. Alternatively, use an immersion blender to blend soup in the pot. Return soup to pan; cook 5 minutes, stirring often.

CILANTRO CREMA

1. Combine oil, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, and crema (or sour cream).

To serve, ladle 1 1/4 cups soup into each of 4 bowls. Top each with 2 TBS crema. Sprinkle chopped hardboiled eggs over the soup, and garnish with additional cilantro leaves.

Makes 4 servings. Each serving of soup = 4 Weight Watchers points; each serving of crema = 1 Weight Watchers point.