Latin-American is one of the places where more people eat beans and pulses in the entire world.
From Mexico to Argentina and the Caribbean islands the variety of beans and pulses is immense, but the “queen” of all beans has to be the Black Bean.
With its earthy flavour and unique goodness, this bean is eaten in soups, refried, wraps, empanadas and stews.
And Venezuela being a South American and Caribbean country, could not do without this bean. In fact, I could dare to say that Black Bean Soup is the queen of soups in Venezuela.
But in all Latin-American countries, black bean soup is just one of the many ways to eat black beans.
In Venezuelan black beans are found in our national dish Pabellón Criollo, in our creole breakfast, as arepa filling, refried, in empanadas and stews, and is almost our national bean.
So this time I want to bring you the recipe to make our traditional Venezuelan Black Bean Soup.
Especially now that winter is coming, there is nothing more comforting than a hot plate of delicious bean soup. their healthy, filling, vegan and no FAT!
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- 250 gr of raw black beans
- 1/2 red pepper
- 1/2 green pepper
- 5 spring onions
- 1 medium onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1.5 tsp of salt
- 1.5 tsp cumin powder
- 1.5 tsp dried oregano
- 500 ml of tomato passata
- 1 tbsp Worcester Sauce
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Water to cook the beans in
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Cook the beans as per packet instructions.
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In the meantime in a blender blitz the passata, onion, spring onions, garlic and peppers.
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In a pot cook the mix for 20 min adding 1 tsp of the oregano, cumin, salt and Worcester sauce,
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When the beans are half way cooked, add the tomato sauce to the beans with 1/2 tsp of cumin, oregano and salt, and leave to cook for approx 30 minutes or until the beans are soft. Stir occasionally to avoid the beans sticking to the pot.
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Once the beans are soft serve immediately.
If you like a more liquid soup add a little bit of water once the beans are cooked and stir.
Recipe by: Mi Terruño Food - www.miterrunofood,co.uk
Serving Options
At home we serve black bean soup with some white rice on the top or some white cheese. In the UK I would use something like Feta or Wensleydale cheese.
Another option is with some avocado pieces and white cheese. Some people also eat it with sugar sprinkled all over it, my dad being one of those!
Traditionally we also serve it with arepas instead of bread. For some reason I feel black beans don’t go well with bread, no matter what kind of bread.
Shelf Life
I think this soup in comparison to others keeps really well when frozen, I mean, it doesn’t loose its flavour or consistency when defrosted.
So when I prepare it I make a really big pot so I can freeze several portions and have another day. Especially those days when I don’t fancy cooking.
But if freezing is not your thing, then it keeps well for a good 4 to 5 days in the fridge.
How to Make Black Bean Soup with Canned Beans
Hands down I will always prefer to use raw beans for this soup, but if you can’t be bothered to use raw beans then canned ones are an option.
In this case I would cook the tomato sauce as the recipe indicates and half way through I would add the canned beans together with the liquid and leave it to cook all together for the remaining time the sauce needs.
I think the flavours is not the same as cooking with the raw beans, but, is a good way to get a really nice meal in a short time.
How to Make Black Bean Soup without Broth
For me a broth is like a stock, and for this recipe you definitely don’t need a broth. By using the tomato passata you eliminate the use of broth that would make your soup more liquid and with less flavour.
I don’t recommend using broth or stock when making black bean soup because you will need to cook the beans for longer to get some flavour and you won’t definitely get the thick consistency real black bean soup has.
VIDEO OF VENEZUELAN BLACK BEAN SOUP RECIPE
You definitely have to make this recipe, is very easy and super delicious, not to mention uber healthy!!
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See you next week with another delicious recipe. For now thank you reading!!
