Black Bean Soup with Quinoa

Ingredients:

• 2 cups black beans, soaked overnight
• 2 quarts chicken broth
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced onion
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 tsp chopped cilantro
• 4 tsp sour cream

Spice blend

• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp ground new mexico chili pepper (if available)
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Preparation:

1. Prepare basic quinoa.
2. Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Add the soaked beans, reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until tender. Check water level and add more if necessary. (About 1 hour)
3. Strain the beans and reserve 2 cups of the water.
4. In the same pot, with beans removed, sauté onion, garlic, celery, and carrots in olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add the spice blend and sautée for 1 minute.
5. Pour the reserved cooking water, chicken broth, and tomatoes into the pot. Add the beans and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat.
6. Using a hand held blender, puree the soup in the pan until mostly liquid allowing some texture to remain.
7. Serve soup in a bowl over a scoop of quinoa or brown rice. Garnish with 1/2 tsp of cilantro and 1 tsp sour cream.

Serves 4