The road to my husband’s culinary heart is not a difficult one to follow. Contented sighs and groans of satisfaction are guaranteed with any meal that involves Mexican flavors, such as Rick Bayless’ Smoky Peanut Mole with Pork Tenderloin, or black beans. While living in New York City, we ate a couple of memorable meals at Danny Meyer’s acclaimed restaurant, Union Square Cafe. While this recipe is my own, I did borrow one of Union Square’s serving ideas for their black bean soup. When the soup is brought to the table, a shot of sherry is offered. Stirred into the soup, the fortified wine lends a heady aroma and luxurious flavor. However, if you prefer to abstain, this soup is filled with layers of flavor that are sure to satisfy.
When I mentioned to my husband that I was going to make one of his favorites for dinner, his comment was, “How about with bacon?” Knowing that I am responsible for the majority of bacon consumption in our house, he knew this request would light up my eyes light a Christmas tree on a snowy night. The bacon is crumbled on top of the soup and an extra layer of smoky, salty flavor is achieved by cooking the vegetables in a couple of tablespoons of the bacon drippings. Besides some simple vegetable chopping, this soup takes very little effort to make. The vegetables are cooked until soft, then the black beans and broth are stirred in. The soup is then left to bubble away happily on the stovetop for half an hour. After a quick puree, it is ready to serve. If the soup is your main dish, serve with a green salad and a crusty loaf of bread to round out the meal.
The recipe:
Place 6 strips of bacon in a large nonstick skillet set over medium heat. Cook until the bacon is crisp. Set aside to drain on a piece of paper towel. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
Pour the reserved bacon fat into a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add celery, red jalapeno pepper, and green pepper.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softening, 3 to 5 minutes. Add ground cumin and black beans, and stir to combine with vegetables. Stir in chicken broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low, partially cover the saucepan, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove the soup from the heat and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Only skip this step if you enjoy decorating your ceiling with hot soup. Using an immersion blender (or a blender or food processor – you will have to do this in batches), puree the soup until almost smooth. Be sure to leave some small pieces of black beans for texture.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with sour cream, bacon, and cilantro. If desired, pour a small shot (1 to 2 teaspoons) of dry sherry into each bowl and allow each person to stir it into the soup.
Other soups with black beans:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Crockpot Chicken, Black Bean & Chipotle Pepper Soup
Smitten Kitchen’s Black Bean Pumpkin Soup
Kalyn’s KItchen’s Black Bean & Rice Soup with Lime & Cilantro
Three Many Cooks’ Black Bean & Ham Bone Soup
Dine & Dish’s Creamy Black Bean & Bacon Soup
Black Bean Soup with Bacon & Sherry
6 strips bacon
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 small onion)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 tsp finely chopped red jalapeno, seeded & membranes removed, if desired
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
3 can (14.5 oz. each) black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cans (14.5 oz. each) low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
Sour cream
Cilantro
About 1/4 cup dry sherry (optional)
Place 6 strips of bacon in a large nonstick skillet and set over medium heat. Cook until the bacon is crisp. Set aside to drain on a piece of paper towel. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
Pour the reserved bacon fat into a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add celery, red jalapeno pepper, and green pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softening, 3 to 5 minutes. Add ground cumin and black beans, and stir to combine with vegetables. Stir in chicken broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low, partially cover the saucepan, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove the soup from the heat and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender (or a blender or food processor – you will have to do this in batches), puree the soup until almost smooth. Be sure to leave some small pieces of black beans for texture.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with sour cream, bacon, and cilantro. If desired, pour a small shot (1 to 2 teaspoons) of dry sherry into each bowl and allow each person to stir it into the soup.
Serves 6 as appetizer or 4 as entree.
Estela @ Weekly Bite says
This looks perfect for the cold weather! I love black bean soup 🙂
Pegasuslegend says
This is very different from what I'm used to. Love the flavors incorporated in this dish, love the color too, nice job, sounds like your husband had a wonderful dinner with you since its his favorite, I always love when we visit new places we take away a new food too!
My Kitchen in the Rockies says
My husband absolutely loves this kind of bean soup, too. I will take the recipe to try. Thanks for sharing.
Kalyn says
Oh yes please. Everything about this sounds good.nep
Fromagette says
Mmm, sherry… I do believe I will need to opt-in!!
marla {family fresh cooking} says
Dara, this is such a nice soup. It sounds so elegant, especially that presentation at the Union Square Cafe. Those are some nice memories 🙂
Elin says
CC…this is such a lovely black bean soup and with sherry in it…just nice for the cold weather and healthy too! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Cheers,
Elin
Barbara @ Modern Comfort Food says
I'm always up for hearty soups in general and black bean soup in particular. Perhaps because I live in Florida, I always associate it with Cuba and always make the Cuban version of this soup. I love you intriguing idea of including sherry in the soup and am itching to give it a try. Sounds delicious!
warmvanillasugar says
Great soup recipe! This looks perfect for cool day.
Pretend Chef says
Mr. Sideline Chef is harder to feed than our toddler, haha! You are lucky in that respect to have a man who is easy to please. I love anything with black beans and this sounds and looks incredible. The photo with the bread has me drooling on the laptop!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
I love black bean soup and this version looks fantastic!
Erika says
Looks delicious and perfect for the wintry days upon us! Black bean soup was one of my late father's favorites. When he was ill, I made a big pot every time I visited. I think there might still be some in my mother's freezer.
Emily Malloy says
Simply perfect!
Jenny says
What a fabulous looking soup!
doughmesstic says
Gorgeous, Dara! It's pretty cold here today – this soup would be great!
Sprinkles of Parsley says
I make a similar kidney bean soup… bean soups are wonderful!
Tracy says
This looks lovely! I love black bean soup!
Monet says
Bacon and sherry? You sure do know how to make a black bean soup recipe especially appealing! I would have been thrilled to eat this today for lunch! Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you have a wonderful Monday!
Steve says
Mmmmmmmmmm Bacon….
Maria says
I wish I had this soup right now. It is so cold today! Putting it on my list!
Belinda @zomppa says
That's cute that he grunts his approval – I'm sure we all would with this recipe!
Drick says
ya know Dara, the thing about reading your recipes is that I want to cook all of them – now how am I going find time to post my own? this one is a must try, and real soon…love the flavors and thank hubby for the bacon
A Canadian Foodie says
I love black bean soups and this one definitely is different than the usual expectation flavour profile-wise. I cannot wait to try it. I am a soup fiend!
🙂
valerie
Evan @swEEts says
You and I are very similar in our bacon love 🙂 This soup sounds perfect for a chilly evening and I'm sure the bacon makes it extra tasty! I've heard of serving sherry with clam chowder but never black bean soup. I'll have to try it!
Nancy says
Sherry and bacon… you got me right there… in a black bean soup – perfection.
Will probably be making a batch of this soon… 3 straight weeks of basketball tournaments has arrived!!
Kristen says
I am totally trying this soup – yum! Your husband is my kind of man!
penny aka jeroxie says
Sherry in soup? I have yet to try this.
[email protected] says
I LOVE black bean soup – healthy, delicious, filling, warming!
Viviane Bauquet Farre- Food and Style says
I could eat black bean soup every day in the winter! This is a fantastic recipe… Love the sherry in there – definitely wouldn't be "optional" for me!
Magic of Spice says
I love black bean soup and yours looks fantastic 🙂
Suzanne aka vivisue says
LOVE this soup! And the sherry is a nice special touch. But the bacon? YUM!!!! I'm with your husband. Anything Mexican is bound to flip my pancakes and this one is right up our alley. And don't you just love that immersion blender? I can't believe how much I use mine. Can't wait to use it with your recipe, too!
Angie says
What a great recipe, I loved that you took something so simple and really dressed it up.
Shaina says
Sounds perfect for a cold winter evening, especially with warm bread.
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says
I agree with your husband's assessment of Mexican flavors – they're some of my absolutely favorites, too. This black bean soup looks perfect for the cold nights we've had here lately.
SMITH BITES says
I have made a black bean soup w/Sherry in it and LOVE how it changes the flavor!!
jennaseverythingblog says
This looks a lot like my Mom's 'frijoles charros' except in a soup form. It looks fantastic–I saw it this morning on TK (congrats for being featured again =).
Kevin says
That is one tasty looking soup!
Robyn says
Now this looks like a black bean soup recipe that I must try soon! Beautiful, Dara!
How To: Simplify says
This chilly weather has been craving soup all the time. What a great recipe!
Chef Fresco says
This soup looks seriously amazing! Black bean is my favorite, hands down!
Anonymous says
I have wanted to post something like this on my website and this gave me an idea. Cheers.