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Smokey Black Bean Soup

A smoky black bean soup with diced tomatoes, chipotle, and avocado garnish.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Cumin and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Smokey Black Bean Soup

Time1 3/4 hours

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

  2. Add onion, celery, and green pepper; cook, stirring often, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.

  3. Add garlic, cumin, and oregano; cook, stirring often, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.

  4. Add beans and 6 cups water.

  5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until beans are tender, about 1 3/4 hours.

  6. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.

Make the soup

  1. With a slotted spoon, transfer 1 cup beans to a food processor or blender.

  2. Add tomatoes and chipotles; process until smooth.

  3. Return mixture to pot.

  4. Stir in sherry, increase heat, and bring soup to a boil.

  5. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes to reduce liquid.

Crisp the tortillas and serve

  1. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

  2. Add tortilla strips in batches; toss frequently and gently to brown evenly, about 3 minutes. Adjust heat as necessary.

  3. Remove to paper towels to blot excess oil.

  4. Place tortilla strips, avocado, and Lime Cream in separate small bowls.

  5. Serve soup hot with garnishes on the side.

Pressure cooker method

  1. To make this soup in a pressure cooker, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the pressure cooker.

  2. Add onion, celery, and green pepper; cook, stirring often, over medium-low heat until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.

  3. Add garlic, cumin, and oregano; cook another few minutes until fragrant.

  4. Add beans and 4 cups water; cover.

  5. Bring to a boil, lock lid into place, and bring to high pressure.

  6. Cook over high pressure 15 minutes.

  7. Turn off heat, and let beans return to pressure naturally.

  8. Remove lid, and add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.

  9. Proceed with Step 3, above.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

828Calories
20 gProtein
47 gFat
88 gCarbs

Counts 15 of 16 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 15 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Avocado1 medium (150g)240
Corn Tortilla1 medium flour (45g)140
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Black Bean1/2 cup canned (120g) drained114
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Saucenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together983 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,756 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Black beans
Provide the body and bulk of the soup once simmered until tender and pureed.
Diced tomatoes
Add acidity and liquid, and help thicken the soup when blended.
Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
Supply smoky heat that gives the soup its character.
Onion
Builds a sweet, savory base as it softens in the oil.
Corn tortillas
Brown in oil to form crisp, toasted strips that add crunch.
Avocado
Adds creamy fat and richness to the finished bowl.

The step that matters

Simmering the beans until tender. Beans must be fully tender before blending, since dried beans that are undercooked stay firm and grainy and resist turning smooth. Adding salt only after the beans are cooked helps them soften evenly.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, celery, pepper, clove, garlic, cumin, oregano):

  1. Eggplantfits better
  2. Tomatofits better
  3. Spinachfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, celery, pepper, clove, garlic, cumin, oregano. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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