BARBECUE BEAN SOUP

Barbecue Bean Soup image

Yield Makes about 13 cups, serving 8

Number Of Ingredients 14

3 cups chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
two 32-ounce cans tomatoes including the juice, chopped
three 16-ounce cans pink beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
two 7-ounce bottles roasted red peppers, rinsed, drained, and chopped
3 1/2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon Tabasco
2 teaspoons cider vinegar, or to taste

Steps:

In a kettle cook the onion and the garlic in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, stir in the chili powder, the cumin, the allspice, and the cloves, and simmer the mixture for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes with the juice, the beans, the roasted peppers, the broth, the molasses, the Tabasco, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer the soup, covered partially and stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours. Stir the vinegar into the soup and simmer the soup until it is heated through. The soup may be made 2 days in advance, cooled completely, uncovered, and kept covered and chilled. Reheat the soup and ladle it into thermoses.