Recipe - Black Bean Soup

When I graduated from college, my mom took me on my first trip to the Caribbean for my graduation present. We went to St. Thomas and stayed in a nice hotel right on the beach with a great view across to St. John. I loved every minute of it, though most of those minutes were spent on a comfy beach chair sipping a coconut lime daiquiri.

I also loved the food. Our little hotel had a great restaurant, though I was shell-shocked by the prices ($26 for a fruit plate and pastry for breakfast?!?) which led me to order the least expensive thing on the dinner menu our first night - black bean soup. They brought it out steaming hot with little dishes of chopped tomatoes, cheese, salsa, and hot sauce so I could garnish at will.

Sadly, when we returned from the vacation, I tried every black bean soup recipe I could find, and they were ALL lacking. After many years of experimenting and many, many pots of soup, I finally got pretty close to that soup I loved so much that first vacation in the sun.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup orange juice
2 15 ounce cans black beans, drained
1/2 tsp ground chipotle or hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil over med. heat in large pot. Saute onion and carrot until soft. Add garlic, cumin, coriander and cook one minute more. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Use an immersion blender or food processor to puree until smooth.