Black Bean Soup

There's something very special about black bean soup.  It's extremely versatile and is great to eat year round.  The flavor is rich and hardy and it goes with just about anything.  Here's my basic recipe and I'll talk about some of my favorite variations and different ways to dress it up.  Every now and then I'll make my own beans and they're definitely better than canned but the thing I love about this soup is that when short on time you can make very quickly.  Black bean soup keeps well for up to 5 days or so and the flavor just gets better upon reheating.

2 large cans black beans (I use Goya 29 oz.)
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 cup onion diced
2-3 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp oil
2-4 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp Mexican oregano
1-2 limes

Saute the onion over medium heat until soft (5 minutes or so) then add the garlic and half the ginger, saute for a minute then add the beans (water & all), tomatoes, the rest of the ginger, chipotles, and the spices.  Bring to a boil then simmer for 5-10 minutes to let the flavors come together.  Turn off the heat and puree with an immersion blender.  Add the juice of half a lime and stir in.  Serve and squeeze a quarter lime per serving.  When using canned beans you really don't need any salt but season to taste if necessary.

A real easy option is to serve the soup with some freshly chopped cilantro and avocado and these flavors work extremely well together.  I also usually cook 3-4 thinly sliced carrots with the onion.  If you cook for people that claim to not like vegetables they won't even know you've added them as long as you do a good job destroying the evidence with your immersion blender.  Another option to carrots is a roasted butternut squash.

If you want to get a little more fancy kick it up with some crab salad.
1/2 cup lump crab meat
2 tomatoes diced
1 avocado diced
1/2 - 1 thinly sliced jalapeño or anaheim chile
1 tbsp finely diced red onion
2 tbsp cilantro
1 lime
salt, pepper

Gently fold all ingredients together and server on top of the soup.