The Christmas ham went to its final reward in this soup and it turned
out really well.

Black bean soup

Bone from 1/2 of a smoked ham plus 2c diced leftover ham
or
1 thick slice of smoked ham.
1 lb dry black beans
2 bay leaves
Salt
Baking soda
2 TB olive oil
2c diced onion
1c each diced celery and carrot
2 garlic cloves, minced
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (available canned in most markets)

Rinse and pick over the beans for stones and other foreign matter. Place
in a soup pot with the ham bone or slice, bay leaves, a big pinch of
salt, a big pinch of baking soda (helps the beans keep their black
color) and about twice as much water as needed to cover the beans. Bring
to a simmer and cook until the beans are almost done, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
During cooking check the pot and add water if needed to keep the beans
just covered. If using a ham bone, remove and discard. If using a slice,
remove, dice, and reserve. Discard bay leaves.

In another pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, celery, carrot,
and garlic until soft but not browned, about 10 minutes. Pour in the
beans and their cooking liquid and simmer the mixture for 10-15 minutes.
Remove about 1/4 of the soup to a food processor along with 1 to 3 of
the chipotle peppers and with some of the sauce (more peppers = more
zing in the final soup). Process to a puree and return to the soup. Add
diced ham and simmer, stirring, for a final 5 minutes, Check seasoning
and serve garnished with sour cream, fresh cilantro, and/or salsa.


--
Peter Aitken

Peter A wrote:
> The Christmas ham went to its final reward in this soup and it turned
> out really well.
>
> Black bean soup
[snip tasty sounding recipe]

> Remove about 1/4 of the soup to a food processor along with 1 to 3 of
> the chipotle peppers and with some of the sauce (more peppers = more
> zing in the final soup). Process to a puree and return to the soup. [snip]

This is one of the pesky processes that justifies getting a wand/stick
blender. Instead of having to do this, just use the wand blender on
the beans until you've got the soup thickness you want. -aem

"Peter A" > wrote in message
...
> The Christmas ham went to its final reward in this soup and it turned
> out really well.
>
> Black bean soup
<snip recipe>

sounds very good. No cumin? Maybe it gets enough pizzazz from the chipotle
in adobo sauce?

TammyM

try adding avocado leaves
"Peter A" > wrote in message
...
> The Christmas ham went to its final reward in this soup and it turned
> out really well.
>
> Black bean soup
>
> Bone from 1/2 of a smoked ham plus 2c diced leftover ham
> or
> 1 thick slice of smoked ham.
> 1 lb dry black beans
> 2 bay leaves
> Salt
> Baking soda
> 2 TB olive oil
> 2c diced onion
> 1c each diced celery and carrot
> 2 garlic cloves, minced
> Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (available canned in most markets)
>
> Rinse and pick over the beans for stones and other foreign matter. Place
> in a soup pot with the ham bone or slice, bay leaves, a big pinch of
> salt, a big pinch of baking soda (helps the beans keep their black
> color) and about twice as much water as needed to cover the beans. Bring
> to a simmer and cook until the beans are almost done, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
> During cooking check the pot and add water if needed to keep the beans
> just covered. If using a ham bone, remove and discard. If using a slice,
> remove, dice, and reserve. Discard bay leaves.
>
> In another pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, celery, carrot,
> and garlic until soft but not browned, about 10 minutes. Pour in the
> beans and their cooking liquid and simmer the mixture for 10-15 minutes.
> Remove about 1/4 of the soup to a food processor along with 1 to 3 of
> the chipotle peppers and with some of the sauce (more peppers = more
> zing in the final soup). Process to a puree and return to the soup. Add
> diced ham and simmer, stirring, for a final 5 minutes, Check seasoning
> and serve garnished with sour cream, fresh cilantro, and/or salsa.
>
>
> --
> Peter Aitken

jay wrote:
> On 5 Jan 2007 09:04:37 -0800, aem wrote:
>
>> Peter A wrote:
>>> The Christmas ham went to its final reward in this soup and it
>>> turned
>>> out really well.
>>>
>>> Black bean soup
>
>
>>> Remove about 1/4 of the soup to a food processor along with 1 to 3
>>> of
>>> the chipotle peppers and with some of the sauce (more peppers = more
>>> zing in the final soup). Process to a puree and return to the soup.
>>> [snip]
>
>>
>> This is one of the pesky processes that justifies getting a
>> wand/stick blender. Instead of having to do this, just use the wand
>> blender on the beans until you've got the soup thickness you want.
>> -aem
>
> Either way will work. The back of a cook spoon, mashing beans/peppers
> against the side of the pot, is a very easy way to get similar
> results with no additional utensils to clean.
>
> jay

While I love my stick blender, the back of a spoon was certainly the
implement of choice before all these newfangled electric gadgets came along