Black Bean Soup - The Veggie Table

This spicy, garlicky, and surprisingly sweet black bean soup is hearty enough to stick to your ribs!
Yield	6-8 servings
Time	45 minutes + bean soaking/cooking
Tools	skillet wooden spoon rubber spatula blender or food processor (optional) large saucepan or Dutch oven
Ingredients	1 T olive oil 3 c chopped onion 1 medium carrot, diced 2 t cumin 2 t salt 10 cloves garlic, crushed 1 bell pepper, diced 5 c black beans, soaked and cooked or canned/drained/rinsed 1½ c orange juice black pepper cayenne pepper or smoked paprika 2 medium tomatoes, diced (optional) Optional toppings avocado cheese (cheddar, Swiss, Monterey Jack…) or cheese sauce cilantro onion (red or green, diced) salsa sour cream
Directions	Sauté the onion, carrot, cumin, salt, and half the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat, until the carrot is tender. Add the bell pepper and the rest of the garlic and sauté until everything is very tender, about 10-15 minutes. Transfer to the saucepan along with the cooked beans. Stir in the orange juice, both peppers, and the tomatoes. Optionally purée some or all of the soup in the blender, then return to saucepan. Simmer over low heat for another 10-15 minutes, add toppings, and serve. If you prefer a thinner soup, add a cup or two of water and simmer until hot.
Notes	Adapted from the recipe for "Brazilian Black Bean Soup" in Molly Katzen’s New Moosewood Cookbook – read my review. Buy it: Amazon.com \| Amazon.co.uk
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