
Black bean soup is one of those perfect cool-weather dishes. A thick stew with beans, aromatic vegetables and warm spices like cumin and chile, it's a healthy one-pot meal. It's fine in its pure vegetarian version, but this one uses crumbled chorizo sausage; bacon's a good choice too. Make it a day or two ahead - it gets better as it sits - and garnish to your heart's content with cheese, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, diced avocado, and hot sauce.
More healthy soups: Creamy cauliflower soup * Lettuce soup with tarragon * Beta carotene soup
Black bean soup with chorizo sausage
In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Brown the sausage meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon into small pieces as it cooks. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and bell peppers, and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, sprinkle with salt, and saute one minute more. Add the beans, tomatoes, chicken stock, water, and spices to the pot. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover the pot, and simmer gently about 2 hours, until the beans are soft and the flavors have blended. Puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender in bursts, leaving it a little chunky. Serve hot garnished with shredded cheese, sour cream, diced avocado, crushed tortilla chips, or croutons.