Black Bean Soup ala Chez James

Yesterday was a glorious day. The first warm day since last year. Looks like the global warming thing is finally going to catch on. I planned to work out in the garden, cleaning up the leaves and left-overs form last year and wanted a quick and easy lunch. I have been hungry for Black Bean Soup for a quite a while and the time was right.
The night before I washed and sorted a one pound bag of dry black beans. I put them in a six qt. heavy Dutch oven over medium high heat. I added the onion and reduced the heat to a simmer for a couple of hours.

Note: If you are an experienced bean cooker, skip ahead as you already know this. Most all legumes will take longer to cook to tender if they are not salted. When the beans or peas are tender enough to mash with your fingers, then add the salt and meat seasonings. Why is this? Well, I really don't know. There is some controversy over this issue and there are several theories that you need a degree in chemistry to understand. I just know what seems to work for me and it probably matters little when you add the salt. I just add all the seasoning at the same time, after the beans are soft.

• 1 Lb. dry black beans
• water to cover
• 1 med. yellow onion, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped celery, with leaves
• 1/2 lb. good bacon, diced and browned
• 1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes with the juice
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp. Mexican oregano
• 2 -4 fresh Serrano peppers, chopped or sliced. Careful, these babies have some heat so wear protection.
• 2-3 chic bouillon cubes
• 2 Tb. Lime juice, real lime from a bottle works at this stage
• Salt, black pepper and red pepper to taste

1. Soak the beans overnight or as I prefer, bring to a boil, reduce heat, add the onions and celery and simmer for an hour or so. Then remove from heat and leave to cook and cool overnight.

2. The next morning bring to a boil, reduce heat to high simmer. Add water as needed and stir occasionally. Check to see if beans are starting to get tender. When beginning to get tender, remove from heat. When cool enough to handle without danger of scalding, with a slotted spoon, remove about 1/3 of the beans. In batches, puree in the blinder until a smooth consistency and return to the pot.

3. In a heavy skillet, brown the bacon bits and remove from the drippings. Add the tomatoes, cumin, oregano and chiles and stir fry until the juice evaporates and the tomatoes start to scorch. Remove from heat and dump in with the beans. Deglaze the pan with cold water or a little sherry and add to soup. Add the bacon bits, chicken bouillon cubes, lime juice and simmer a while longer. Stir occasionally and season with salt, pepper and adjust the heat to suit with Tabasco or red pepper.

4. Serve piping hot with a dollop of sour cream. Garnish with chopped Cilantro and red onion. Serve with a wedge of lime on the side. A crusty bread or toasted whole wheat tortillas are great to go with a steaming bowl.