This is a very flavorful and filling soup; which happens to look good, too, when garnished with queso fresco and cilantro or avocado slices. Plus, considering the dismal prospects for our agricultural near future, pulses are a great way to cut protein costs (but don't do entirely without meat until you know what you're doing!). Just how Mexican is this? Enough, far's I'm concerned!
Today's Specimen
Ingredients
- 2 cans black refried beans
- 1 can whole black beans
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 can petite diced tomato, drained
- 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
- 8 strips thick bacon, cooked in...
- ¼ tsp. chorizo fat
- ⅓ cup serrano chile, diced
- 1½ cup white onion
- 1 Tbsp. garlic, mashed with...
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. any mild chili powder
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
Directions
- In a large skillet or sauce pan on medium heat cook the bacon in the chorizo fat until the bacon is partially cooked. Add the onion and serrano chile and cook covered for about ten minutes; you don't want the onion to be completely transparent — this will be finished in a pot (or crock pot, if you have the patience).
- In a pot that can hold at least a gallon, on medium heat, add the refried beans, whole beans, canned corn and diced tomato, mashed garlic, and chicken broth, and allow to heat up concurrently with the ingredients cooking in the skillet.
- Once everything is cooked in the skillet, as per these instructions, toss all those ingredients into the pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and let come to a boil, after which drop the temperature to low and let cook covered for an hour. Check once midway through to add water if necessary. The consistency you're striving for is the kind that will hold a wood stirring spoon vertical when the soup cools (which means while cooking it will tip over slowly). Like a thick chili or chowder.
- When serving, try to garnish each portion with some queso fresco and fresh cilantro or sliced avocado. If you have some epizote available, that can be substituted for the cilantro, though as with the cilantro a little bit goes a long way. A lot of people dislike both cilantro and epizote, so if you're impressing people you don't really know go wit hte sliced avocado instead.
Next Time in the Lab
Honestly, I like it the way it is. But, since this blog is all about experimentation I suppose I can thin up a couple small modifications to make.
- Use just 1 cup of the corn instead of the entire can.
- Increase the serrano chile to ¾ cup to heat things up a bit.
- Substitute one dried chipotle pepper for the teaspoon chili powder.
- Use 1½ cups fresh tomatoe instead of canned, seeds removed.
