Mmmmm, I have to say that of all the soups, this one is my favourite. It is so tasty, warming, and filling- and full of one of my favourite and least glamorous foods- beans. I just love beans, the taste and the texture, and they are the main ingredient in this wonderful soup.

Black Bean Soup

1 lb of stewing beef (cut small) or alternatively I used leftover roast beef cut into pieces
1 medium onion
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 can of tomato paste
1 heaped tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp chili powder

3 or 4 cans of black beans with liquid (depending on the size of your pot or crowd)
1 cup of chicken stock

In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium heat. If you are using raw beef, add the beef, browning it on all sides then add the onions to fry until transparent. If you are using leftover roast beef you can add both at the same time. Once the onions are transparent, add the tomato paste and spices and stir all together with the meat, heating it all and making sure it is all incorporated.


Then add the beans- the whole can, liquids and all- and the chicken stock. Trust me, although you may have never used an undrained can of beans in your life- this is really really good.


Then you just let it cook for a while on the stove and mix all the flavours together- I would say about 20 minutes is fine if you used leftover beef, and 30-45 minutes if you used raw beef to give it time to tenderize!

mmmm so hearty and delicious!

And I served this, most untraditionally, with tortillas and hummus, which is still delicious.

If you would like to know how I make Hummus–

1 can of chick peas (drained)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic
juice of one lemon (approx. 1/3 of a cup)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oriental sesame oil

Blend all together in a food processor- or if you have a super snazzy blender like I do *brushes off shoulders and displays my christmas present of two years ago*

Then you can mix it all on super high power!

mmmm so much delicious!

Alternatively you can fry yourself up a simple cheese quesadilla- and that goes perfectly as well!

Hope you all are having wonderfully delicious Sundays! – So close to Christmas- I will do more Christmas posts this week- I have decorations- a crochet project & more coming soon!

xo erin