Easy Black Bean Soup

My daughter and I liked this soup so much that we made it twice last week and have vowed to eat it once a week in perpetuity. Consider adding a couple of spashes of half-and-half to the soup shortly before serving.

Easy Black Bean Soup

Serves 6 to 8

2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

1 large red onion, finely chopped

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 large jalapeño, minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teapoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon ground coriander

¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

6 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed

7 to 8 cups vegetable stock

1 cup chopped cilantro, divided

Juice of two limes

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in heavy 5-quart pan over medium-high heat.

2. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeño, and sauté over medium heat until the onion is soft and the garlic is fragrant, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Do not let the mixture brown.

3. Add ground and whole cumin, coriander, and cayenne and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

4. Add rinsed beans, stirring to combine.

5. Add about 7 cups of vegetable stock and bring the mixture to a boil.

6. Stir in ½ cup of the cilantro and reduce heat to a simmer.

7. Let simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

8. Puree with immersible blender to preferred consistency. Stir in additional broth if you want a thinner consistency.

9. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with chopped cilantro.

NOTE: Have a party by making a huge batch of this soup and asking folks to bring a topping. Consider having cooked rice to put on the bottom of the soup bowls. Topping ideas: fried tortilla strips, Greek plain yogurt, sour cream, grated cheese, sliced green onion, chopped red onion, chopped hard-boiled eggs, crumbled sausage, crumbled bacon, chopped tomatoes, avocado slices.