Soups can be very complicated in their simplicity.

For this soup, you really need to commit and used great dried black beans — not something from a can — to get the best results. I’d highly recommend heirloom black beans from somewhere like Rancho Gordo. As a bonus, heirloom beans usually cook a lot more quickly and evenly than their conventional counterparts, which tend to be older and drier.

As with most soups, this is greatly enhanced with an excellent stock. I tend to have chicken stock on hand, the remnants of roast, and a great veggie stock also works if you want to make this vegan. In a pinch, it’s still pretty good if you use water in place of the stock.

Ingredients

  • 160 g dried black beans
  • Water
  • Olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 2 sticks celery, finely diced
  • 2 medium carrots, brunoise
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 L stock (or water)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Crème fraîche (optional)
  • Cilantro (optional)

Method

Start by soaking the beans. In a large bowl, cover the beans with water by a factor of about two. Let them soak for six hours or overnight. Drain the beans and set them aside.

Warm a film of olive oil in a medium stockpot or Dutch oven on medium heat.

Then add the onion, celery, and carrots with a pinch of salt. Sweat the aromatics down until they’re soft and translucent, 10 to 20 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook it until it’s fragrant, about a minute. Then add the cumin and paprika, once again cooking until the mixture is fragrant.

Pour in the stock along with the soaked beans and the bay leaf.

Bring the mixture up to a simmer, and then hold it there until the beans are cooked through, about two to four hours, depending on the beans.

Remove the bay leaf. Transfer half the soup to a blender and blend the mixture until it’s a smooth purée. Add it back to the pot with the remaining soup.

Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Optionally, drizzle the finished soup with olive oil, and add a quenelle of crème fraîche and some cilantro.