Black Bean Soup

By Maverick19

This soup comes from The Silver Palate shop, from Manhattan, in the late 70's.

Ingredients

• 1 cup olive oil
• 3 cups diced yellow onions
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 pounds black turtle beans, soaked in water overnight
• 1 meaty han bone or smoked ham hock
• 6 quarts water
• 2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp ground cumin seed
• 1 Tbsp dry oregano
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 6 Tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 medium size sweet red pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup dry sherry wine
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1-2 cups Creme Fraiche or sour cream

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onions and garlic and cook over low heat until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Drain the beans and add them, the ham bone or hock, and the 6 quarts water to the pot. Stir in 2 Tbsp of the cumin seed, the oregano, bay leaves, salt, pepper, cayenne and 2 Tbsp of the parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook, uncovered, until beans are very tender and liquid is reduced by about three quarters. This will take 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

3. Transfer han bone or hock to a plate and cool slightly. Pull off any remaining meat with your fingers and shred finely. Return meat to the pot.

4. Stir in remaining parsley, sweet red pepper, remaining cumin seed, sherry, brown sugar and lemon juice. Simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste, correct seasoning and serve very hot, garnished with a dollop of creme fraiche/sour cream.