Black Bean Soup - Graham Kerr's Smart Cooking

Title:
Black Bean Soup - Graham Kerr's Smart Cooking

Yield:
6 Servings

Categories:
Vegetarian,
Celebrity,
Soups,
Stews,
Chowders




Ingredients:





     1 lb Black turtle beans


     2 lg Ham hocks; stripped of all


          -visible fat


     4 ts Extra light olive oil with a


     1 ds Sesame oil


     2 lg Yellow onions; peeled and


          -diced


     4    Cloves garlic


     3 qt Water; (or good beef stock)


   1/2 ts Freshly ground black pepper


     1 pn Cayenne pepper


     4 ts Ground cummin seed


     4    Sprigs oregano


     3    Bay leaves


     1 md Red bell pepper; seeded and


          -diced


     3 tb Fresh chopped parsley


     1 tb Brown sugar


     1 tb Freshly squeezed lemon juice


     2 ts Orange zest


     1 c  Strained yogurt mixed with


     1 ts Chopped cilantro






 ? The night before making this splendid soup, place the black beans in a


 bowl of water and let them soak overnight.


 


 ? Blanch the ham hocks by putting them in a medium saucepan with enough


 cold water to cover and bring to the boil. Pour off the water and rinse out


 the pan. ? In a 10 inch diameter Dutch oven, or high-sided casserole pot,


 heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and saute the onions and garlic.


 


 ? Rinse and drain the black beans thoroughly. Pour them into the pot and


 place the ham hocks in the center. This allows the bean flavor to be evenly


 "en-hocked!"


 


 ? Cover with the water or stock, add the freshly ground black pepper and


 stir in the cayenne, 1 tablespoon of the cumin seed, the oregano and bay


 leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Now remove the ham


 hocks and bay leaves, setting the ham haocks aside in a medium sized bowl


 and discarding the bay leaves.


 


 ? Remove 1? cups of beans from the soup, along with 1? cups of the cooking


 liquid and puree these in a food processor. Pour this mixture through a


 sieve, into a large bowl. With a wooden spoon, push the beans through the


 sieve. Pour the puree back into the pot and discard the residue in the


 sieve.


 


 ? Chop approximately 1? cups of the lean ham lock meat into very small


 chunks and toss them back into the soup.


 


 ? In a hot, small saucepan stir the remaining olive oil with the red


 pepper, parsley, the remaining cumin seed and the brown sugar. Mix in the


 lemon juice and orange zest and stir into the hot soup. What a fabulous


 aroma!


 


 ? Take the soup to the table with the yogurt-cilantro mixture on the side.


 


 Recipe by: Graham Kerr


 


 Posted to recipelu-digest by Badams 
on Feb 25,


 1998