Black Bean Soup - Made with Dried Beans - And Muir Glen Organic Giveaway

Black bean soup can be made brothy, which I don't like, or can be pureed, which my husband-with-texture-issues would not touch; but I come up with a happy medium by long, slow cooking. Warning: If you don't have a 7-quart pot, just make half a batch in a 4- or 5-quart pot. I used a 6-quart pot for the double batch and it nearly overflowed; couldn't add the chicken broth until the soup had cooked down a bit!

Black bean soup made with dried beans takes a while (which is why I wanted to make a huge batch--it freezes well). If you're in a hurry, try my Black Bean Soup - Made with Canned Beans instead. But if you have time, use the dried beans. I prefer them, and they are much cheaper! Do the math: 1 pound of organic dried black beans for $2 to $3 equals 4 15-ounce cans of organic black beans for a total of about $8.

Black Bean Soup

(Makes about 5 quarts)

2 pounds dried black beans, rinsed and picked over
3 quarts water
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups finely chopped onion

2 cups finely chopped celery

2 cups finely chopped carrots

1 cup finely diced red bell pepper

1 or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 quart low sodium chicken broth

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (I used Muir Glen fire roasted, one 14-ounce regular and one 14-ounce with medium green chilies)

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 Rinse and pick over beans to remove any debris. In 7-quart pot, soak beans overnight (8 to 24 hours) in 4 quarts of water salted with 3 tablespoons of salt.

2 In 7-quart stockpot, heat olive oil and cook chopped vegetables about 15 minutes until softened. (I would love to have the All-Clad Stainless 7-Quart Stockpot with Pasta Insert!

3 Drain and rinse soaked beans, and add to vegetables in stockpot. Add 3 quarts fresh water. Bring to a boil. Cover, leaving lid slightly ajar. Reduce heat and simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours.

4 Add remaining ingredients. Continue simmering for 3 hours. Actually, I like to cook it down even more.

Muir Glen Organic Giveaway

One winner will receive a Muir Glen Organic Reserve Gift Basket. All US residents who leave a comment (one entry per person) on this post before 11:59pm Eastern time March 28 will be put into a random drawing. Winner will be announced here before noon Eastern time on Thursday March 29.