- Hey, I'm John Kanell,
and today on Preppy Kitchen,
we're making a quick and easy black bean soup.
So let's get started.
First off, grab a medium dutch oven or pot.
We're gonna add four tablespoons, or 1/4 cup,
of olive oil right into the pot.
Place the pot over a medium heat.
I want my oil to be dancing in the pan,
so while it's warming up,
I'm gonna just chop one yellow onion.
Cut your onion in half and leave the root stem on.
Vertical chops, and then switch directions.
So easy.
If you're working with one big onion, it's about two cups.
I also want 1 1/2 cups of chopped carrots,
so just peel some carrots.
You'll want about four medium ones.
And give 'em a nice chop.
For me, that means cutting the carrots
halfway down the middle
and then just chopping them up.
You'll end up with some half-moons and full moons.
It'll look cute.
So cute.
The veggies are chopped.
The oil is warm.
We're gonna add the onion and carrot right into the pot.
Grab a wooden spoon.
I'm gonna stir these guys occasionally until they're tender.
It'll be about 10 minutes over medium heat.
Just get them nice and coated in oil to begin with.
There's really not that much prep to do for this recipe,
so while they're heating up,
let's just get our garlic together.
You'll want four or so cloves of garlic.
Just give 'em a good smash to get the skin off,
and we're gonna mince them up.
My onion's translucent and the carrot's pretty tender,
so it's time to add the garlic and a lot of spices in.
I definitely went over four cloves on this.
You know the deal.
Garlic cloves are always like a minimum suggestion.
No less, but you can add more.
Stir that in.
Now we're gonna add one tablespoon of cumin.
In you go.
A teaspoon of dried oregano.
And by the way, black bean soup is a classic Cuban dish.
There were so many amazing Cuban restaurants
in Los Angeles where I grew up
that this is kind of my,
this like a little bit of a recreation of a memory I had.
So I wouldn't say it's authentic at all,
but it's just kind of like the flavors that I love.
I'm adding 1/2 a teaspoon of crushed red pepper
for some heat.
1/2 a teaspoon of salt.
We can add more later if we need.
And as an optional little addition,
1/2 a teaspoon of smoked paprika.
You can add whatever spices you want.
The soup is really flavorful and delicious,
but it accepts spices beautifully,
so add all your favorites in, go to town.
You can also find a lot of different variations
of the classic recipe.
If you are going to Caribbean countries,
you'll see different flavors added and so on and so forth.
So it's really like a blank canvas
that you can add so many things to.
Okay, stir that in.
It smells so good already.
This is like, hmm, this is what cooking should be.
I'm gonna stir this for about two minutes,
stirring constantly so the garlic doesn't burn
but does become super fragrant.
I'm also blooming those spices in the hot, hot oil
and really letting their flavor
kinda just explode out of there.
Okay.
Oops, I forgot one thing.
I'm gonna turn this off.
Take it off heat.
We have to drain and rinse all of our black beans.
So open those cans up, and let's rinse 'em out.
If you have any good suggestions
for that bean juice, or aquafaba,
you can let me know in the comments.
If these were garbanzo beans or chickpeas,
I would totally save that.
There's so many good uses for it.
But I'm not sure about the black bean stuff.
All right, my beans are clean.
Back to business.
Back to medium heat.
I'm gonna add my black beans.
Four cups of veggie broth.
If you wanted to make this non-vegetarian,
you could definitely use chicken broth, beef broth,
any of your favorites.
This smells delicious,
but it would taste pretty dull,
because we need some acid in here.
I want about 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice.
Squeeze that right in.
Ah.
All my might.
I used to have a little lime press, remember?
Cannot find my squeezer,
so a fork will do just fine.
Depending on how juicy your lime is in.
(bell dings)
Depending on how juicier your limes are,
you might need a few for 1/4 cup.
Or you could be lucky and get one giant juicy lime, mm.
One suggestion, just don't use the bottled lime juice.
Mm-mm, it's not the same.
There are a bunch of soups that my mom used to make
on repeat when I was little,
and a lot of them were finished off
with a drizzle of olive oil and a drizzle of vinegar.
I feel like it's a really classic way to finish a soup.
Gives you a little bit of richness
and that nice acidity too.
If you did that too, let me know.
I just wanna see if it's super common or kind of random.
Stir that lime juice in.
And now we're gonna bring this to a boil
over medium high heat.
The soup needs to come together,
so we have to break down these flavors
and let them infuse into the broth.
My soup's come to a boil.
I'm gonna reduce this heat to low, cover it,
and let it simmer away.
The secret to most soups,
but especially this one, is the simmer time.
It's actually all the spices and flavorings,
but the other secret is the simmer time
to let those flavors come together.
And there's a,
even though most of the ingredients are here right now,
there's a couple more steps to go
just to get every bit of taste
and texture outta these ingredients.
But for now, we're gonna let the soup simmer away
for 25 minutes.
Just remember to stir occasionally.
My soup's been bubbling away
for a little bit over 25 minutes.
So now, ooh, so steamy, in the ladle,
about two cups right into my blender.
This tastes really nice already,
but I want a velvety smooth consistency, so.
Where's the cups?
(chuckles)
There we go, that's about two cups.
Open the blender vent.
This is so hot,
it could just push the top off if the vent isn't open,
so leave it open,
but maybe just a little bit of coverage.
Okay, we're gonna pulse this until it's nice and smooth.
And then, we're just gonna pour this back in.
There we go.
And you're gonna let this cook uncovered
for 10 to 20 minutes,
just so it thickens up even more.
Super thick, you want it.
(speaks in foreign language)
If you want this super thick, closer to 20.
More slack, 10 or less.
Before you leave your soup to simmer,
it's time for a little taste test.
This is where you want to add in any additional seasonings.
Hmm.
I mean, I really like that,
but if you wanted to add some more salt, pepper, lime,
whatever else you want to add,
this is the time
so it has that 10 to 20 minutes just to blend in
and release some more flavor.
That's good.
Serve topped with avocado, cilantro, and lime,
and you're ready to enjoy.
That is so good.
It's just hearty, comforting.
It has wonderful hits of acid and tang,
and all the spices coming together with all that cook time.
I hope you get a chance to make this recipe.
And if you liked this video, check out my Latin playlist.
(upbeat music)