Black Bean Soup

Prepare the dried beans, soak overnight in water or simmer for 1 hour submerged in water.

Drain the black beans. Combine beans with water until submerged in a medium sauce pan or Dutch oven. Add 1 chopped onion and 2 chopped garlic cloves and simmer for 1 hour.

Dice the remaining onion, garlic, red pepper, and carrots. In a medium saute pan, saute vegetables in olive oil over medium-low heat. Add 1/2 of the salt. Remove vegetables from heat when translucent, about 10-12 minutes.

After the beans have softened, about 1 hour, add in the sautéed vegetables, chicken stock, wine, cumin, remaining salt and pepper. Simmer to reduce the liquid for 5 minutes. Place 3 cups of mixture into a blender and liquify. If you are lucky enough to own an immersion blender, feel free to zip it through the soup pot for a few seconds. I prefer some chunkiness but if that’s not your thing, blend the whole thing up.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream.