When mom gave me this recipe, she told me that the soup was "awesome", her word exactly. Well, I thought the combination was interesting, as I've never added quite all those ingredients to a black bean soup before. It intrigued me enough to try it. Of course, mom was right. The soup was smoky, tangy and fully of veggie goodness.
This makes a small pot of soup.
To find everything you need to make this wonderful soup, shop your local Meijer.
- 1/2 cup dry black beans, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 smoky pork hock
- olive oil
- 1 cup smoky diced ham
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, chopped (for spicy soup, for mild soup, use 1/2 green pepper)
- 1/2 t cumin
- 1/2 t oregano, rubbed
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup diced tomato
- hot sauce to taste
- 1 small handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- 1 cup frozen corn
- juice from 1 fresh lime
- In a soup pot or Dutch oven, add beans, broth and pork hock and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover; reduce heat to medium low and simmer beans about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Saute ham, onion, celery and jalapeno til softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in spices and herbs and cook a few seconds. Add the veggie mixture to the soup pot and simmer another 30 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, hot sauce and cilantro to pot and simmer 30 more minutes. About 5 minutes before serving, stir in corn.
- Just before serving stir in lime juice. Discard pork hock.
- I served the soup with buttered bread.
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