Black Bean Soup

Servings: 4
Ingredients:

1 lb Black beans, rinsed and
-sorted
1    Smoked ham hock
2    Onions, coarsely chopped
1    Carrot, coarsely chopped
1    Celery stalk, coarsely
-chopped
3 qt Chicken stock
1/4 c  Tomato paste
1 1/2 tb Ground cumin
1 tb Curry powder
1 ts Ground thyme
1/2 ts Ground bay leaves
1/2 ts Cayenne pepper
1/2 ts Freshly ground white pepper
1/2 c  Brewed coffee
2 tb Dark rum
Salt and freshly ground
-pepper
1 c  Cooked white rice
3    Green onions, minced
1 sm Red pepper, roasted, peeled,
-seeded and diced
1/2 bn Cilantro, minced
1    Lime, thinly sliced

Makes 4 quarts

Combine beans, ham hock, onions, carrot and celery in heavy large saucepan.
Add enough water to cover ingredients by 2 inches. Bring to boil. Reduce
heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. Let mixture stand at room
temperature overnight.

Remove ham hock from beans. Remove meat from bone. Trim meat well. Chop
finely; set aside. Degrease bean mixture. Add stock, tomato paste, cumin,
curry, thyme, bay leaves, cayenne and white pepper and bring to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until beans are tender, stirring
occasionally, about 2 hours.

Using slotted spoon, transfer beans to blender and puree (in batches if
necessary). Return to saucepan. Add coffee and rum. Bring mixture to
boil. Mix in ham hock meat. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine rice, onions, bell pepper and cilantro. Spoon some of mixture into
each bowl. Ladle soup over. Garnish with lime.

Chez Renee - Aptos, CA.

Posted by Jim Vorheis. Courtesy of Fred Peters.