Black Bean Soup with Orange Salsa

Black bean soup and hot spice go together like love and marriage…perfection! Protein-rich soups like this keep us feeling deeply nourished for a long time, so we eat less and feel stronger for longer periods of time.

Makes 4-5 servings

Ingredient List:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
• 1 red onion, diced
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 dried jalapeno chili, soaked until tender, diced
• sea salt
• 1-2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 ½ cups canned diced tomatoes
• 1 cup black turtle beans, rinsed very well
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cups spring or filter water

Orange Salsa:

• 2 oranges, peeled, seeded, diced
• 1 jalapeno, finely minced
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
• ¼ red onion, finely diced
• Sea salt
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 sprigs fresh flatleaf parsley, finely minced

Step By Step Instructions:

Place about 2 tablespoons oil, garlic, onion, lemon zest and chili in a medium soup pot over medium heat. When the onion begins to sizzle, add a pinch of salt and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Stir in celery and carrot, a pinch of salt and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Add beans, bay leaf and water, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until beans are soft, 1 to 1 ½ hours. When the beans are soft, season the soup to taste with salt. Remove bay leaf and discard.  

While the soup cooks, make the salsa. Combine all ingredients with sea salt to taste. Set aside to allow flavors to develop while the soup cooks.

To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls with a generous scoop of salsa.

Cook’s Tip: If you can’t find dried jalapeno peppers, you may choose another dried pepper or simply use the fresh version. It will produce a milder heat.