Make a big pot of this on
the weekend and use it as a
base for a million variations
throughout the week.
Serves 4–6
440g (2 cups) dried black
beans or
2 x 425g tins black beans,
drained
2 fresh bay leaves
60ml (¼ cup) olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeño, diced (seeds
removed for a milder taste)
1 green capsicum (bell
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2 - 3 garlic cloves, crushed
½ teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon sweet paprika
½ tablespoon ground
coriander
½ tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon ground black
pepper
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 litre (4 cups) vegan chicken
stock
125g (½ cup) sofrito or tinned
diced tomatoes
large handful coriander
(cilantro), roughly chopped,
plus extra, to serve
juice of 1 lime
your favourite hot sauce, to
taste
½ avocado, roughly chopped,
to serve
pickled cabbage, to serve
tortilla chips, to serve
1 If using dried beans,
place them in a large
saucepan and cover with
cold water. Add 1 bay leaf
and bring the beans to the
boil (do NOT add salt at
this point).
2 Reduce the heat to
medium and simmer for
approximately 1 hour
until slightly underdone
(they should still have
some bite to them). Drain
and set aside.3 Heat the oil in a large
saucepan over medium
heat and add the onion,
jalapeño, capsicum, garlic
and salt. Cook, stirring
frequently, for a few minutes
until the onion begins to
soften. Add the spices,
oregano and remaining bay
leaf and cook for a further
1 minute.4 Add the drained cooked
or tinned beans to the pan,
then pour over the chicken
stock and sofrito or
tomatoes. Bring to a low
simmer and cook until the
beans are very soft,
approximately 30 minutes.5 Transfer half of the soup
to a blender and purée until
smooth. Pour back into
the pan and stir well. For
a thinner soup, only blend
one-third of the beans, and
to use as a burrito or taco
filling, blend three-quarters
of the beans.6 Return to the heat, then
add the coriander, lime and
hot sauce and cook for a
further 5 minutes.7 Top the soup with
chopped avocado, pickled
cabbage and a sprinkling
of chopped coriander.
Serve with tortilla chips
on the side.
This is an edited extract from Smith &
Daughters A Cookbook (that happens
to be vegan) by Shannon Martinez & Mo
Wyse published by Hardie Grant Books
RRP $48 and is available in stores
nationally.
Photographer: © Bonnie SavageBrazilian
black bean
soup