Black bean soup

I should devise a point system for recipes, with X points for a company-worthy rating, X points for taste and X points for utility. This recipe does quite well in the utility department, because it lets me use up lots of things in need of use: one of those limes I didn’t use for the cocktail party, some ham lurking in the freezer from a long-ago family gathering, and it makes a dent in the dried bean supply.

Until I did a bit of reorganization of my lazy susan corner pantry last fall, my dried goods had gotten a bit out of control. Since I couldn’t tell at a quick glance what I had, or if I didn’t remember to look before I went to the store, I’d just buy another package of beans for a recipe just in case. Then end result, once rationalized, was a ridiculous quantity of a wide variety of dried beans.

I prefer to cook my own beans if I have the time, because they’re so much more flavorful, and I can control the consistency and salt factor better. I can’t claim to do it all the time, but if I do, here’s my strategy: Thursday night I set the package of beans out on the counter so I’ll see it when I get home the next day. Friday I soak the beans overnight. Saturday I either drain them and store them in the frig until I’m ready to cook them or start them right away in the slow cooker: Put the drained beans in the slow cooker. Stir in a teaspoon of salt per pound of beans. Add a bay leaf and place a quartered onion on the top. Add enough water to coat by 2 inches. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 8 hours, depending on how mushy you want them. If you want more salt, add it at the end of the cooking time.

I generally try to cook 2 pounds of beans at a time, partly because you get more beans for the same amount of effort and partly because I find they cook much faster if I have enough beans to do them in the larger oval crockpot rather than a 1-pound bag in the old-school upright slow cooker. Beans freeze really well. I divide them into containers of 1¾ cups of beans, since that’s about how much is in a can and many recipes call for that.

Black-bean soup

Adapted from Everyday Food, Jan./Feb. 2004

Ingredients

8-ounce slab of ham

1 tablespoon light olive oil

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeno chile, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon dried oregano

6 cups cooked black beans, or 3 cans drained and rinsed

4 cups water

Juice of 1 lime

½ cup chopped cilantro, divided

Method

In a large saucepan, brown ham on both sides. Remove from skillet. Add olive oil to pan and add onion. Cook until softened. Add jalapeno and garlic, cumin and oregano. Stir for 1 minute. Add beans and water. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop ham into ½-inch pieces. Remove soup from heat, and with a stick blender, puree soup. Or transfer to a blender in batches. (I left a few solid beans for color and texture, because otherwise it's kind of unattractive.) Return to heat and stir in ham, lime juice and most of cilantro, reserving some for garnish. Cook for another 10 minutes, then dish into bowls and garnish with remaining cilantro. Serves 4 realistically.

Rating: Fine enough flavors; the lime juice and cilantro help brighten it, and the ham makes it hearty. Not the lookiest of soups; pureed black beans result in a sort of pasty, purplish gray that’s not the most appetizing color, so it might not be my first choice of company food. But it made a good weekend lunch soup. If you’d like a vegetarian version, I think it would be a perfectly fine recipe without it.

Followup: This is one of those soups that definitely benefits from being made ahead. The leftovers greatly raised my opinion of this soup.