Black Bean Soup for Two

The other night I grabbed two cookbooks from the shelf and began flipping through. Out fell a cute, brand new birthday card for grandpa. A minute after looking at the card, I realized my grandpa's birthday was three days away (Feb. 21). So I quickly had my sister sign (we signed for my brother) and sent it off to him. What perfect timing! Since that was a sign of fate, I thought I'd have luck with a recipe from the same book. Turns out, I did!

This recipe comes from the Taste of Home 2005 Recipe Collection

1/4 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced (I think pressed would be better)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (I used closer to 1 teaspoon)
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 ounces) vegetable or beef broth (I used beef and recommend it)
1 bay leaf
1 to 2 tablespoons lime juice (I used the juice from 1/2 a lime)
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (I did about 5 shakes)
Ground pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in cumin, oregano and chili powder; saute 2 minutes longer. Add tomato sauce, beans, broth and bay leaf.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir in lime juice; simmer 10-15 minutes longer. Discard bay leaf. Add pepper sauce and pepper.

To me, this is a different take on black bean soup than I'm used to, which is an almost pureed, thick black mass. This is soupier and the beans remain whole.

There are so many wonderful flavors going on in this soup! I love that you can distinctly taste the beef broth, tomatoes, pepper and lime.