Text 8183, 84 rader
Skriven 2006-11-30 23:05:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av CAROL BRYANT
Ärende: Thang 596
=================
 CB> These numbers suggest you have WAY too much time on your hands.

And whose fault was that?

Maggie's Black Bean Soup (A Soup of Love)
cat: soup
yield: 1 batch

1 lb dried black beans, soaked overnight
water
1 lg ham hock (or 2 small)
2 lg white onions, peeled and chopped
10 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
4 lg carrots, peeled and chopped into 2-3" pieces
2 stalks celery, chopped
6 to 10 whole cloves
10 whole peppercorns
2 to 3 bay leaves
1/2 ts dried savory
20 whole coriander seeds
1/2 ts cumin seed or to taste
1 ds cinnamon
1 ds red pepper flakes
1 splash malt vinegar or balsamic vinegar
h - garnish
dollops of sour cream
chopped cilantro
finely chopped red onion

Drain the soaked the beans, rinse, and fill a large pot
with enough water to cover the beans by 4". Add ham hock
and bring to a boil, then turn down to a slow simmer.
Add onion and the garlic, which you have smashed with the
back of a knife slightly. Add carrots and celery. Add the
rest of the seasonings except cinnamon and vinegar. Cover
loosely and simmer for several hours (I like to take a nap
while it's simmering). Stir occasionally to keep beans
from sticking to the bottom of the pot. You want to cook
it until the carrots are very tender and the onions are
practically liquefied. If it gets too thick, add water.

Then take it off the heat and pick out the meat and bones
and set aside. Discard all bone fragments and gristle.

Strain the beans and broth and put about half the beans
into a blender or food processor, along with the carrots
and with the the onion, celery, and garlic, which will be
almost liquefied at this point. Whiz until it is thick and
smooth. Return this mixture to the broth, add the rest of
the whole beans, and the meat. Mix well. Add splash of
vinegar and dash of cinnamon, and bring it to a boil,
then turn it off. Taste to correct seasoning. If you like
a more spicy hot soup, you can add chili powder.

I serve this with a dollop of real dairy sour cream, the
fattening kind, chopped cilantro, and finely chopped red
onion. With a pan of cornbread and perhaps a nice tossed
green salad, this makes a great lunch or dinner. It
is even better the next day, and it freezes well.

I don't add any salt to this soup, because very often the
ham hocks are themselves very salty, and also because I
happen not to like salty things. If you like more salt,
you can either add some sea salt to the water you boil the
beans in, or better yet, add salt at the table. This soup
can be made vegetarian - just don't use the ham hock.

All quantities are approximate and seasoning can be adjusted
according to preference. The savory is a must with the beans,
though, as is the bay leaf and the coriander. You can omit
the cumin, but I think it tastes better with it.

I just made this soup out of my head one day. We have drippy,
wet winters here in Sonoma County, and here by the Russian
River, it floods. We're above the flood line, but often the
roads are closed and undriveable, and a pot of bean soup on
the stove is heartening, warming, and always tastes good
on a cold, damp day.

Source: Maggie Fex, Sonoma, CA

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