I love black beans, and am always delighted to find new ways to prepare them. Although I have had black bean soup before, I never had black bean soup quite as delicious as the soup I enjoyed at the Columbia Restaurant in Tampa, Florida (a huge recommendation to visit the Columbia if you ever find yourself in Tampa!) Despite a stomach already full from tapas, after the first spoonful of this amazing soup, I then proceeded to very quickly devour the rest. From a nutritional standpoint, this soup is low in fat, rich in fiber and protein, and a fantastic source of iron, magnesium, thiamin, folate, and riboflavin. Despite being good for you, it is also delicious and filling. Enjoy! (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

 1 pound black beans, dried
 2 ½ quarts of water
 2 medium onions, chopped fine
 2 green peppers, cut into strips
 1 teaspoon olive oil
 1 teaspoon oregano
 1 bay leaf
 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
 4 cloves garlic, minced
 1 tablespoon salt
 ½ teaspoon black pepper
 White rice, cooked
 Chopped onions and tomatoes for garnish

Directions:

1. Before washing the beans, spread them on a flat surface and pick out the broken beans
and foreign particles. Wash the beans thoroughly and soak them overnight in 2 quarts of
water.
2. The following day, pour beans and water into a 4-quart soup kettle; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium, cover pot with a lid, and cook.
3. While the beans are cooking, use a separate skillet to sauté onions and green peppers in
olive oil until the onions and peppers are lightly golden. Add the crushed oregano, bay
leaf, cumin, and garlic to the onion/pepper mix, stir to combine, and remove from heat.
4. Add the spice/onion/pepper mixture to the beans, stirring well. Add the salt and pepper
and stir.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, until beans are tender (at least 1 hour),
stirring occasionally.
6. Serve over white rice, top with chopped onions and tomatoes, and enjoy!

Nutrition Information (calculated without garnish or rice): Serving size: 1/4th recipe | Servings
per recipe: 4 | Calories: 201, total fat: 2 g, saturated fat: 0.4 g, cholesterol: 0 mg, sodium: 43.3
mg, carbohydrates: 36.5 g, fiber: 11.4 g, sugar: 4.8 g, protein: 11.4 g

*Recipe adapted from the Columbia Restaurant

Photo at top: Black bean soup. Photo by MB Mitcham.