Cuban Black Bean and Ham Soup
Cuban black bean soup – often called Sopa de Frijoles Negros—is one of those dishes that tells the story of a place as much as it satisfies and comforts. Hearty, but not at all heavy, black beans are simmered with onions, peppers and a hambone along with aromatic spices like bay leaf, cumin, chili powder and garlic – and the convenient addition of prepared salsa. Serve it with rice and finish it with cool and tangy lime crema, hard-cooked eggs, red onion and cilantro.
Equipment
- Dutch oven or soup pot
- small skillet or sauté pan
- small bowl
- blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1- pound black beans, rinsed and picked over
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 ham bone or 2 ham hocks
- 6 cups chicken stock + 2 cups water
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon hot paprika
- 16 ounces prepared medium salsa
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnishes
- lime crema (recipe follows)
- hard cooked eggs
- red onion
- chopped cilantro
Lime Crema
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoons lime juice plus 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 clove garlic minced
Instructions
- Add dried beans to a Dutch oven or soup pot. Sort through the beans with your fingers to remove debris. Add water to cover beans, about 3 cups, and soak the beans for 8 hours or overnight. Drain the beans and reserve.
- In a heavy Dutch oven or soup pot, heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, and sauté the onion and bell pepper until they are tender, about six minutes
- Add the drained beans, bay leaves, ham bone, broth and 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Skim off any white foam. Cover pot and reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 1-½ hours until beans are tender.
- While simmering, in a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the minced garlic and sauté until tender, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, chili powder and paprika and stir and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Remove from heat and reserve.
- Prepare lime crema. In a small bowl combine sour crème, lime juice and zest, and garlic until combined. Reserve
- Using tongs, remove the ham bone from the soup. Remove ham from the bone and dice.
- Transfer 3 cups of soup to a blender or food processer and pulse until smooth. Return to the soup pot along with the diced ham, the spice mixture, prepared salsa, vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir to combine and cover. Simmer the soup for 20 minutes on medium-low heat.
- Adjust seasonings. Serve over white rice, along with your choice of garnish.