Served at Ottawa Soup and Bread night at Jeremiah Joe’s coffee house on 1/16/2013. Our Red and Black bean mix is about half black turtle beans and half light red kidney beans. You could easily use black beans alone in this recipe.
Cover generously with water:
1/2 pound (1 c.) black and red beans, soaked overnight (or 2 c. canned beans)
1 ancho chile pepper (dried poblano peppers, seeded)
1 bay leaf
optional: 1/2 of one spicier pepper of your choice, seeded
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes or until beans are tender. While the beans are cooking, get out a skillet.
Heat
1 T. olive oil
Add
1 c. onion, chopped (1 medium)
3/4 c. carrot, chopped (1 large)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
and cook on medium to low heat. Partway through the cooking, add
1 t. pepper, cracked
1 t. salt
1.5 t. cumin, ground
1/4 t. mustard, ground
pinch of allspice
When onions are soft but not totally clear, turn off skillet. When beans are cooked, add the veggie/spice mixture to the pot. Then add
1/2 c. diced tomatoes (canned or fresh), or a tablespoon of tomato paste
1 cuban oregano leaf, chopped (can substitute regular oregano and/or thyme – about 1 T. total)
Let the soup cook down for a good long while (an hour or two), simmering as low as possible. If you like, transfer it to a crock pot and keep it on low. Just be sure that it doesn’t run out of liquid.
Taste and adjust spices. Before serving, add
1 t. apple cider vinegar
optional toppers:
green onion, chopped and tossed in juice of 1/4 lime
cilantro, chopped
BRESLIN FARMS 