Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Black Beans - Quick and Easy Black Bean Soup

Black Turtle BeansThe small, shiny black turtle bean is especially popular in Latin American cuisine, though it can also be found in Cajun and Creole cuisines of South Louisiana. It is often called simply the black bean (frijol negro in Spanish, feijão preto in Portuguese), although this can cause confusion with other black beans.

The black turtle bean has a dense, meaty texture and flavor reminiscent of mushrooms, which makes it popular in vegetarian dishes such as the Mexican-American black bean burrito. It is a very popular bean in various regions of Brazil, and is used in the national dish, feijoada. It is also a principal ingredient of Platillo Moros y Cristianos in Cuba, is a must-have in the typical gallo pinto of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, is a fundamental part of Pabellón Criollo in Venezuela, and is served in almost all of Latin America as well as many Hispanic enclaves in the United States. The black turtle bean is also very popular for making into soups, which are often eaten with Cuban crackers.
Black turtle beans have recently been reported to be an extremely good source of nutritional antioxidants. 
All legumes are high in protein, and black beans are no exception. Dried beans are important sources of protein in vegetarian diets, and in areas where animal protein is scarce or expensive. However, this protein is incomplete (does not contain all 9 amino acids), so grains (which provide the missing amino acids) must also be a significant part of the strictly vegetarian diet. Or, small amounts of dairy products, meat, poultry or fish (which contain complete proteins) must be part of the diet. In the areas where common beans originated (Central America and southern Mexico) corn supplied the missing amino acids, and squash was an additional source of vitamins.

Black beans, as all dried beans, are also good sources of starches, fiber, B vitamins, iron, zinc, phosphorus, complex carbohydrates and calcium. About half of the calcium is lost during cooking. High percentages of the other nutrients remain however, even after cooking.

This black bean soup recipe is an easy meal that can be ready in 20 minutes or you can put it into a slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours.  Either way you will love this soup!!!
 


Quick and Easy Black Bean Soup

INGREDIENTS:

2 (15 ounce) can Black Beans, indrained
1 (16 ounce) can chicken broth
1 cup salsa
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 (11 ounce) can Mexicorn, drained
Sour cream (optional)
Chopped Onion (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
Avocado (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
  • Pour both cans of beans into a pot.
  • Add chicken broth, salsa, corn, cumin and chili powder.
  • Bring to a boil, serve.
  • If desired top with shredded cheese, sour cream, onion, avocado and cilantro.
Enjoy and have a blessed day.




3 comments:

Doña Masita said...

Dear Jerilyn, it sure looks very very easy! Thanks for sharing this recipe.

Hugs,
Doña Masita
www.donamasita.com

Jerilyn Zaveral said...

Thank you for your comment. I checked out you website and found that it made me very hungry. I will be trying some of your recipes very soon.

Best wishes.

Jerilyn

Doña Masita said...

Thank you dear, best wishes for you too!

Doña Masita