PeaceBang’s Black Bean & Broccoli Soup

Put a few cups of soaked and rinsed black beans on the stove to simmer for about an hour. When the water has set to boil, add chicken bouillon to the water. I like the Better Than Bouillon reduced-sodium kind. It’s by far the best bouillon I have ever cooked with.

Throw a cup or so of frozen broccoli in there. Why not? Good for ya, it adds great flavor, and we all need those greens.  And a 1/3 or so of a bag  of roasted corn kernels (I get it at Trader Joe’s). While you’re at it, throw a bunch of frozen chicken breast cutlets in the water to thaw them real fast (unless you’re vegetarian). You’re going to fish them out later. Smash a few fat garlic gloves and add to the water. This is a garlicky soup.

I tossed in a big bunch of Manzanilla Mexican seasoning, too, which added amazing flavor and a kick of heat. I got it from Spices Inc. as a freebie with my last order, which was cool of them. And now they’re getting a shout-out, which is cool of me.

While your soup is simmering, chop up an onion and sautee it in some butter (that butter’s going to give this soup a bit of fat that will make it feel much richer and caloric than it actually is). Throw at least a tablespoon of turmeric in the pan with the butter and onion — it’s very healthy for you. Grind in some fresh black pepper. Smash up another couple of garlic cloves and sautee those with the onion on low-medium heat until soft. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Fish the now-thawed chicken breasts out of the soup with a pair of tongs and add them to the buttery onion and garlic and turmeric pan to get them coated with good flavor. Break them up into chunks with the edge of your wooden spoon. Do NOT add this mixture to the soup yet.

When the beans in the soup pot are soft and all the veggies are cooked through and you’ve got the flavor adjusted to taste, turn off the heat under your soup pot and either blend the soup with an immersion blender (ask for Santa to give you one for Christmas if you don’t have one – they’re AWESOME!) or use a blender or food processor to do it. Don’t blend so much that the soup is totally creamy – you want it to have some texture to it.

After blending the soup, THEN add the chicken/onion/garlic/turmeric/pepper mixture in and stir well. This is a thick, chunky soup.

Heat some olive oil in a heavy skillet and put in two pieces of rustic bread. Heat well until golden and toasty on both sides. Top with grated colby cheese and a pinch of salt and serve with the soup.

It’s all kinds of yummy, but I hope you’ll feel free to customize to your own taste.

Bon appetite!