Cuban Black Bean Soup with Tomato/Cilantro Rice

This winter, I kind of have a "theme" going. I am addicted to black beans! Besides the fact that they are low in fat, they have the added benefit of containing huge amounts of fiber!


Fiber is good.


This dish has 20 grams per serving. It is recommended that adults take in between 25 and 35 gram a day. Most adults don't even come close.


I'm here to remedy that.

Enjoy!



Cuban Black Bean Soup


1 lb. dried black beans (2 1/3 cups)
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (Be careful!)
1 Tb. paprika
2 t. ground cumin
2 t. dried oregano
1 t. ground coriander
2 0r 3 strips of bacon
1-2 Tb. red wine vinegar
Sea salt and pepper to taste


Soak beans in water overnight. (If you add a Tb. of buttermilk, whole milk yogurt, whey or lemon juice, it will break down the hard-to-digest proteins!)


In the morning, drain beans and rinse. Combine beans, broth, onion, celery, jalapeno, paprika, cumin, oregano, and coriander in a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Lay the bacon over the top of the bean mixture. It will season the beans. I doubled the recipe and it fit nicely in my 8 quart crock pot. Cover soup; cook on high-heat setting for 5-6 hours or on low-heat setting for 8-9 hours. When 1 hour remains, check beans for doneness. Remove and discard the bacon. Stir in vinegar; season with salt and pepper.


Puree 4 cups of the soup in a food processor. Add pureed soup back into the pot. Stir to combine. Serve with Tomato-Cilantro rice and sour cream. Serves 6.

Tomato-Cilantro Rice

2 Tb. EVOO

1 Tb. minced garlic

1/2 t. ground cumin

2 cups dry converted white rice (I only had jasmine, so that is what I used.)

2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 (16 oz.) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves

Sea salt to taste

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cumin; saute 30 seconds. Add rice; stir to coat grains. Stir in broth and tomato sauce; bring to boil.

Cover rice mixture; reduce heat to low. Cook rice for 20 minutes and remove from heat.

Let rice stand, covered for 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork. Stir in cilantro and salt before serving. Serves 6

This was divine! With a "dollop of Daisy", it was heavenly. You're going to want to double this for the leftovers...I promise.