Black Bean Soup

More soups, it has been quite chilly here in the evenings which makes me want to make soups. This recipe is pretty simple, I had a version of this soup at a place in NYC and i went home and recreated it. Now you can do the long way, by buying the beans, soaking them, then simmering them to get them ready for the soup. Or you can just buy the cans of black beans and have this nice soup in a few minutes verse hours,

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

about a cup of roast pork left over from another meal, cut into nice size chunks
or you can use about a cup of pancetta, diced
1 table spoon olive oil
1 red onion diced, on the small size
1 jalapeno diced
5 cloves or garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
2 sprigs of fresh oregano, leaves removed from the stem
3 cans of black beans, 15oz size, or 16oz what ever you can find, drained
5 cups of water, less if you want a thicker soup
1/2 cup cilantro chopped and stems removed
Zest of one lime
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions
In a deep pot over medium high heat, brown the pork or pancetta. Once browned remove from pan. Now add the olive oil and the onions and reduce heat to medium. saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Next add the jalapeno, oregano and the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Now add all the spices and stir for an additional minute. Add beans to the pot, along with the water and simmer for about 20 minutes. Toss in cilantro.
Now ladle soup into a blender and blend until smooth. To serve, place the browned meat at the bottom of the bowls, spoon in soup and finish with some cilantro and lime zest.

Enjoy cooking