Best Parmesan Sage Black Bean Soup Recipes

BEST BLACK BEAN SOUP

Best Black Bean Soup image

This American classic can be a perfect dish: big-tasting, filling, nutritious, easy and very possibly vegetarian. With their rich natural broth, turtle beans do not need bacon, ham or any meat ingredient to make a satisfying soup. Black bean soup recipes have a tendency to turn out sludgy or bland, but the trick here is to season generously, and purée sparingly. The beans should be swimming in liquid, not sitting in sludge: The more beans are puréed, the more starch is released into the soup. For flavor, this recipe deploys marinated chipotle chiles, but a tablespoon each of ground cumin and ground coriander make a good heat-free substitute. (A note: Since there is acid from the wine here, if your tap water is hard there might be a reaction that will prevent the beans from softening. To be safe, add the wine later, along with the stock. And if there is any question about the hardness of your water, use distilled.)

Provided by Julia Moskin

Categories dinner, lunch, soups and stews, appetizer, main course

Time 2h

Yield 10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 21

Ingredients

1 small (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo (see note)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup red wine
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
1 pound dry black beans (do not soak)
2 quarts mild vegetable or chicken stock
1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Red wine vinegar, to taste
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
Freshly squeezed juice of 2 limes
Salt
Sour cream or Mexican crema
Whole cilantro leaves
Thinly sliced fresh chiles
Sliced avocado

Steps:

Empty the can of chiles into a blender or food processor. Purée until smooth, scrape into a container, and set aside. Put on a teakettle of water to boil, and keep hot.
In a large, heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add carrots, onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, 5 to 8 minutes.
Pour in wine and let simmer until pan is almost dry and vegetables are coated. Add jalapeños and cook, stirring, just until softened, 2 minutes. Push the vegetables out to the edges of the pot and dollop 2 teaspoons of chipotle purée in the center. Let fry for a minute and then stir together with the vegetables.
Add beans, stock, oregano and bay leaves. Stir, bring to a boil, and let boil 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, partly covered, stirring occasionally and adding hot water as needed to keep the soup liquid and runny, not sludgy. Continue cooking until beans are just softened and fragrant, 1 to 2 hours. Add salt and pepper and keep cooking until beans are soft.
Meanwhile, make the pickled onions, if using: In a bowl, combine sliced onions, lime juice and a sprinkling of salt. Let soften at room temperature until crunchy and tart, about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze dry in paper towels and refrigerate until ready to serve. If desired, chop coarsely before serving.
Adjust the texture of the soup: The goal is to combine whole beans, soft chunks and a velvety broth. Some beans release enough starch while cooking to produce a thick broth without puréeing. If soup seems thin, use an immersion blender or blender to purée a small amount of the beans until smooth, then stir back in. Continue until desired texture is reached, keeping in mind that the soup will continue to thicken as it sits.
Heat the soup through, taste and adjust the seasonings with salt, pepper, drops of red wine vinegar and dabs of chipotle purée.
Serve in deep bowls, garnishing each serving with sour cream, pickled onions, cilantro leaves, sliced chiles and avocado as desired.

TUSCAN BEAN SOUP WITH PROSCIUTTO AND GRATED PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO

Tuscan Bean Soup with Prosciutto and Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano image

Provided by Nancy Silverton

Categories Soup/Stew Blender Food Processor Bean Cheese Garlic Pasta Dinner Lunch Parmesan Fall Winter Prosciutto Cabbage Simmer Boil Sugar Conscious Wheat/Gluten-Free Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free No Sugar Added

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 9

Ingredients

4 15-ounce cans creamy beans (such as giant white beans, borlotti beans, or cannellini beans), not drained (about 6 cups)
6 large garlic cloves, grated or minced (about 2 tablespoons)
3 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
4 large fresh basil leaves
2 cups shredded Napa cabbage (about 1/4 head)
High-quality extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Parmigiano-Reggiano wedge, for grating
4 thin slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces)

Steps:

Combine the beans and their liquid with the garlic, salt, thyme, basil, and 2 cups of water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes to meld the flavors. Remove about 1 1/2 cups of the beans, returning any garlic or basil to the saucepan. Use an immersion blender to purée the remaining beans in the pot until smooth.
(Alternatively, let the soup cool slightly then transfer it to a blender or food processor and purée, holding the lid down tight so the hot liquid doesn't splatter out.) Stir in the reserved beans and cabbage and thin the soup with water if necessary. Cook the soup over medium heat until the cabbage wilts and is slightly tender, about 5 minutes.
Divide the soup evenly among four large soup plates or bowls, filling them to just below the rim. Drizzle each serving with high-quality olive oil and grate a thin layer of Parmesan cheese over them. Tear one slice of the prosciutto into a few pieces and rumple the pieces onto one bowl of soup; repeat with the remaining prosciutto slices.