Cuban black bean soup

Name: Cuban black bean soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 50 min
Total time: 10 h 5 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Cuban
Ingredients: 450 g dried black beans; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, chopped; 1 green pepper, chopped; 1 carrot, chopped; 4 clove garlic, finely chopped; 2 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp dried oregano; 2 bay leaves; 1.5 l vegetable stock; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste; 0.5 tsp black pepper; 0.5 red onion, finely chopped, to serve; 10 g fresh coriander, chopped, to serve; 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

10 h 5
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 h 50
Serves 6
easy

Start cooking

Dried black beans simmered with onion, green pepper, garlic and cumin into a thick, earthy soup, finished with vinegar, onion and lime.

Method

1
Rinse the beans, pick out any stones and soak them overnight in plenty of cold water.
2
Drain and rinse the soaked beans.
3
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion, green pepper and carrot until soft.
4
Add the garlic, cumin and oregano and stir until fragrant.
5
Add the beans, stock and bay leaves and bring to the boil.
6
Simmer, partly covered, until the beans are completely tender and creamy inside.
7
Remove the bay leaves and blend about a third of the soup until smooth, then stir it back in.
8
Add the vinegar, salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes so the flavours come together.
9
Taste and adjust the salt; the vinegar should lift the soup without tasting sour.
10
Serve topped with red onion and coriander, with lime wedges for squeezing.

Notes

Older beans can take up to an hour longer to soften, so keep tasting.
With three 400 g cans of black beans, drained, simmer for 25 minutes and use 1 litre of stock.
A spoonful of sour cream on top is good if you do not need the soup to be vegan.

Equipment

Large bowl, Large heavy pot, Blender or stick blender

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