| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 2 hr |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black beans
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 sprigs fresh oregano
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 smoked ham hock
- 1 jalapeno, split
- 1 3/4 quarts low-sodium chicken stock
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
- Lime wedges, for garnish
- Cilantro sprigs, for garnish
Instructions
- Pick through the beans and discard any debris – wash under cold running water. In a food processor, add garlic, onion, bell pepper, and cilantro.
- Set a large pot over medium heat and add a 3-count of olive oil. Add the oregano and cumin. Add vegetable puree and saute until just fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Add beans, ham hock, jalapeno, and stock. Slightly cover and simmer for 2 hours until beans are tender.
- When cooked, remove bay leaves and take out ham hock. Cut ham meat off the bone, cut into pieces and set aside.
- Using a blender or immersion blender, puree just enough of the beans and stock (about a third of the total pot) to thicken up the soup and bring everything together. Season with salt and pepper and fold ham meat back into the soup.
- Make the crema by combining sour cream and zest. Serve each soup with a spoonful of lime crema, a squeeze of lime and some fresh cilantro.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 614 |
| Total Fat | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 60 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 14 g |
| Sugar | 6 g |
| Protein | 40 g |
| Cholesterol | 66 mg |
| Sodium | 1280 mg |
Reviews
I think the reference to “remove the bay leaves” is for the 1/4 bunch of cilantro leaves and stems to be removed. They will be limp and not attractive in the soup. Garnish the soup before serving with fresh cilantro leaves on top of the creme.
Two words. . . The BEST
Made this with the last of our holiday ham and it was delicious. Beans were definitely cooked through, but I did have it on for 3+ hours. Next time I will probably use more jalapeno, but it’s an awesome recipe.
I would normally soak my beans over night, but I figure Tyler usually knows what he’s doing, so I sorted, rinsed and tossed them in. I followed this recipe exactly, and after two hours the beans were still hard. So, I simmered another full hour, and they’re still hard in places. The whole thing tastes good, and I love the the spices bloomed in the oil first, but I’m going to go add another 2 cups of stock and simmer another hour to try and salvage. Next time I’ll do a pre-soak or start with canned beans.
I loved this soup. I did not put a bayleaf in as it was not in the ingredient list. I did soak the beans overnight as recommended by other reviewers. It was amazing soup! Love all your recipes Tyler!
This recipe needs work. For one the beans will still be tough after two hours and there was no mention of the need for bay leaves in the ingredients list. Take my advice and soak the beans overnight. Forgo the jalapeno and use chipotle in adobo for a smokier flavor.
This is more of a roadmap rather than a recipe. And not a good roadmap at that.
where are the bay leaves? the recipe does not include them in the ingredients but in the body of recipe it states to remove them with ham hock. was this a mistake? is it referring to the 2 halves of jalapeno? i am not done yet, still cooking, but give it 5 starts because the house smells great.
After I got over the bay leaves not being in the ingredient list (really, Tyler? LOL!) I had problems with finding a couple of other ingredients. My grocery store had no fresh oregano nor did they have smoked ham hocks. I used dried oregano instead. I also substituted chipotle peppers in adobo sauce because I had to use them up. The butcher at my store recommended using smoked pork jowl in lieu of the ham and it turned out well. This was my first attempt at black bean soup and I guess I picked the right recipe because this seems to be very forgiving. By the way, I used half the pork jowl (pretty much like bacon) in the soup and diced and fried up the remainder till crispy for an additional topping! OMG! SO SOOO good!! I’m making it again today!!!!
I’ve always liked black bean soup, but never really loved it. But I needed to use up some leftover ham, and I had beans on hand, So I gave this recipe a shot. Delicious!! I had to make a few changes.
1 – I soaked the beans overnight first. Oops. Not sure if it made any difference.
2 – I decided to add a bay-leaf because I wasn’t sure if the recipe called for it, and I never met a soup that was hurt by the addition of bay leaves.
3 – I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to remove the jalapeno before blending the soup. I decided to blend it in with the beans. It was spicy, but not too spicy.
4 – I had leftover ham which I added instead of the ham hock, so my soup probably lacked a little of the smoky flavor the hock would have imparted.
1 – I soaked the beans overnight first. Oops. Not sure if it made any difference.
2 – I decided to add a bay-leaf because I wasn’t sure if the recipe called for it, and I never met a soup that was hurt by the addition of bay leaves.
3 – I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to remove the jalapeno before blending the soup. I decided to blend it in with the beans. It was spicy, but not too spicy.
4 – I had leftover ham which I added instead of the ham hock, so my soup probably lacked a little of the smoky flavor the hock would have imparted.
The final product was great topped just with the crema!! I also tried it as suggested by one commenter with the addition of melted velveeta. It was also great, it created kind of a black bean queso soup. Everyone in my very picky family loved it!
Fabulous soup! Definitely will make again and again. The only thing I added was a log of goat cheese at the end. Scrumptious!!