Spicy Pineapple Black Bean Soup

By mjensen

Soup

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup brown rice
• 1 1/3 cups water
• splash low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 jalapeño chill pepper, finely chopped (mild; add more for extra heat)
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. chipotle chili powder
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 can low-sodium diced tomatoes (14 oz/398 ml)
• 2 cups pineapple, small bite-size pieces
• 1 large red pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups butternut squash, bite-size pieces
• 1 cup light coconut milk (optional, but nicely balances out spiciness)
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (14 oz/398 ml)

Preparation

Step 1

1. Combine rice and 1 1/3 cups water in a small saucepan. Cover, bring to a boil, then simmer until all the water is absorbed. Keep covered and set aside.

2. Sautee onion, garlic, jalapeño pepper and all the spices in a splash of low-sodium vegetable broth until tender. Add vegetable broth, tomatoes and pineapple. Cover, bring to a boil, then simmer about 30 minutes.

3. Add red pepper and butternut squash, bring to boil and then simmer another 10 - 15 minutes, until tender but still firm.

4. Add coconut milk, if using, and black beans. Heat through, about another 5 minutes. Serve soup with a small amount of rice added into each portion (do not stir rice into whole pot, to prevent rice from absorbing too much moisture).