Black Bean Soup

Total Time: 6 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 5 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 2 (12 ounce) packages of barzi island black bean soup mix
• 12 teaspoons beef bouillon, dissolved in
• 12 cups of very hot water
• seasoning (packets from inside barzi soup package)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 green pepper, seeded,quartered
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups onions (finely chopped)
• 2 tablespoons pressed or chopped garlic
• 1 cup carrot (finely chopped)
• 1 (10 ounce) can of rotel original diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
• 1 -2 tablespoon ground cumin (we love cumin)
• salt
• pepper
• 1 (16 ounce) package smoked sausage (sliced and cut in half)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup cooking sherry, to taste
• shredded cheddar cheese or sour cream, to garnish

Recipe

• 1 you’ll need a large soup pot, a large skillet, and a blender.
• 2 follow instructions on barzi package for sorting, rinsing, and soaking beans in the large soup pot.
• 3 after boiling beans and letting soak for an hour or more, drain soaking water.
• 4 dissolve beef boullion in 12 cups of very hot water and add to beans in a large pot.
• 5 add barzi seasoning packets, bay leaf, green pepper, and bring beans and boullion to a low boil.
• 6 while soup is beginning to boil: in a large skillet, over medium heat, sauté garlic, onion, and carrots in olive oil for about 10 minutes.
• 7 add to soup.
• 8 add a can of rotel and let soup simmer (stirring occasionally) for about 2 hours.
• 9 after 2 hours, turn off heat and let pot of soup cool for 30 minutes.
• 10 while soup is cooling: in large skillet, over medium heat, sauté smoked sausage in 2 tablespoons olive oil until sausage is lightly browned.
• 11 when soup has cooled, remove bay leaf and green pepper from the soup.
• 12 then strain about two-thirds of the beans and put into a blender (add a ½ cup of the broth).
• 13 (i fill the blender about ¾ full with beans).
• 14 blend beans until smooth.
• 15 return beans to the soup pot.
• 16 rinse blender with about a cup of water and pour back into the soup.
• 17 now add the sausage and cumin to the soup, simmer for about another 45 minutes to an hour (depending on the thickness you like).
• 18 now taste the soup, and add salt and pepper to taste.
• 19 it is best not to add salt or pepper before now because the sausage is salty and it will to make the soup a bit saltier after it’s added.
• 20 add one to two cups of cooking sherry, let simmer for another 10 minutes.
• 21 serve with a dollop of sour cream on the top or sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
• 22 excellent with corn bread or biscuits.