Soup - Black Bean

My father-in-law Bob loves soup and I have grown to love soup like he does. I started making this black bean soup recipe over twenty years ago. It is pretty simple and turns out the same every time. When I was younger, I would host a Super Bowl party where I would make the food from the host city. For example, when it was in New Orleans, I would make étouffée and red beans and rice along with lots of other yummy stuff. I made this soup for a Super Bowl that was in Miami years ago. This is not your traditional Cuban black bean soup, but more of a cross between a southwestern and a Cajun version of black bean soup.

Ingredients

twelve 15 oz. cans of black beans

one 24 oz. jar of medium chunky Pace picante sauce or your favorite chunky salsa

one can of lager beer or your favorite beer

1lb. boudin sausage or 1/2 cup of cooked rice

1 lb. spicy Cajun pork sausage or ground pork with creole seasonings

1 lb. of Andouille sausage

4 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon of cumin

1/2 teaspoon of ginger

3 bay leaves

1/4 cup of Cajun Power garlic sauce

3-5 dashes of Louisiana hot sauce or your favorite

Preparation - 25 mins, Cook Time - 2 hours

Using a colander on top of a bowl, drain the beans and keep the liquid. Due to the number of cans, I had to use two bowls with strainers.

Draining the black beans

With a knife, remove the casing from the Cajun pork sausage if they are links. If your market doesn’t have Cajun pork sausage, then you either order it from here or simply buy ground pork and use creole or Cajun seasoning to flavor the pork. This is an important step. In a separate sauté pan, cook the sausage thoroughly and drain it.

Sautéing Cajun pork sausage

Slice the Andouille sausage into 1/8 inch slices on a bias and set aside.

Slicing andouille

Mince the garlic and set aside

Mincing the garlic

In a large soup pot, add the bean juice, and let it reduce for 10 to 15 minutes. This will turn out to be the thickening agent for the soup. I use a third bowl to hold the drained beans.

Pouring drained bean liquid into soup pot

The black bean liquid without beans begins to smoke as it heats up. The reason you want to reduce this liquid is to impart a nutty flavor as well as thicken it.

Black bean liquid reducing

Once the black bean juice is reduced by half, add the black beans back into the mixture.

Adding black beans to the reduced liquid

Add minced garlic to beans and liquid and give it a nice stir. Adding the garlic now allows it to cook longer and reduce the bitterness.

Adding garlic to mixture

Add the jar of chunky medium Pace Picante sauce and stir to combine.

Adding Pace picante sauce

Add the sliced Andouille sausage and combine thoroughly.

Adding Andouille sausage

If you don’t have the boudin sausage, then add the cooked rice to your ground pork with creole seasoning. Mix evenly and thoroughly.

Adding cooked rice to cooked sausage mixture

Add the Cajun pork sausage or seasoned ground pork with cooked rice mixture to the beans. If you have the Boudin sausage, using a knife over the soup, cut open the Boudin sausage and let the filling drop into the soup. Boudin is an excellent alternative to rice.

Adding seasoned ground pork and rice to the bean mixture

Add the lager beer to the mixture and combine thoroughly. Any lager or light beer will work just fine. I would stick to ales, pilsners or lagers.

Adding beer to the soup.

Add bay leaves to the soup.

Adding bay leaves

Adding Cajun Power Garlic Sauce and combine thoroughly. You can order Cajun Power from here

Adding Cajun Power Garlic Sauce

Add cumin and combine thoroughly.

Adding cumin to the soup

Adding ginger to the soup and combine thoroughly.

Adding ginger to the soup

Add Louisiana hot sauce and combine thoroughly.

Adding Louisiana hot sauce to the soup

Let the soup cook for 2 hours over very low heat. The soup is done once the black beans begin to break down and texture becomes smooth like refried beans.

Finished soup before cooking

To serve, add a scoop or two to your favorite bowl and top with sour cream, if desired. This soup really goes well with corn bread. Enjoy!

Finished black beam soup

Bon Appetit!