Mexican Black Bean Soup

This is such a good soup, and being meatless helps on the budget. I love all the cumin and ground coriander in it, but for our taste I cut way back on the hot sauce. If you like hot flavors, adjust the hot sauce by 1/8 tsp. measurements until the strength is where you and your family can enjoy it.

I made this meal for us and our neighbors yesterday, (she had surgery recently), and along with the soup and bread, we had fresh strawberries with cream cheese dip for dessert. If you would like to try the dip for your family, check the "labels" under cream cheese or dip. The dip and strawberries were a wonderful finish to the flavorful soup and bread. Blessings...

 Recipe:  

3 cans (15 ozs. each) black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
1-3/4 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1-1/2 cups chopped sweet red pepper, 1 large pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14-1/2 ozs. each) chicken broth, divided
1 can (14-1/2 ozs.) diced tomatoes with green peppers and onions, undrained
3 tsps. ground cumin
1-1/2 tsps. ground coriander
1/8 tsp. Louisiana-style hot sauce
black pepper, to taste
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. fresh lime juice

1. Mash one can of the beans with a potato masher, set aside.
2. In a large covered soup kettle, cook celery, onion, red pepper and garlic in 1/2 cup of the chicken broth over low heat until tender.
3. Stir in the remaining broth, tomatoes, cumin, coriander, hot sauce, black pepper, bay leaf, whole and mashed beans.
4. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf and stir in lime juice. Garnish with sour cream or cheese, if desired.

Yield: 9-1/2 cups
Note: I'll share the recipe for the bread in my next post.