Spicy Black Bean Soup Base

Name: Spicy Black Bean Soup Base
Yield: makes 4 to 5 cups
Ingredients: 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded (may substitute guajillo or New Mexico chiles); 1/2 pound dried black beans (1 heaping cup); 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes; 1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2-inch cubes; 2 shallot lobes or 1/2 small onion, cut into 1/2-inch cubes; 1 plump clove garlic, chopped; Pinch of ground cinnamon; Pinch of ground allspice; 1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt, plus more as needed

December 14, 2011

It doesn’t make a lot of sense to make just enough soup for one serving, especially when the soup is based on long-cooking beans. But that doesn’t mean solo cooks have to go without their soup fix. This base uses two of my favorite ingredients, black beans and ancho chiles, to provide the backdrop for Black Bean Tortilla Soup with Shrimp (on page 53) and Black Bean Soup with Seared Scallops and Green Salsa (page 54). But that’s not your only option. Once the base is made, you could also add shrimp, chicken, corn, potatoes, crushed tortilla chips, leftover rice, and/or other salsas, in whatever combination calls out to you.

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