Caribbean Black Bean Soup with Roasted Garlic and Tomatoes

Some of you who read my blog regularly (and believe me, I appreciate it – I know how hard it is to visit every blog every day – there seems to be more and more things on the internet vying for our time), know that I am doing a Year of Beans with Rancho Gordo Beans.   What better recipes to use for my Rancho Gordo beans than Heirloom Beans: Great Recipes for Dips and Spreads, Soups and Stews, Salads and Salsas, and Much More from Rancho Gordo

I’ve made lots of black bean soups.  They are tied for my favorite with white bean and ham soup.  Normally I make my black bean soup exactly like my white bean soup, the only difference being the type of bean.  But while browsing through the cookbook, I found this recipe.   The extra step of roasting the garlic and tomatoes sounded intriguing and not too much work.  I was skeptical of a bean soup that didn’t at least have a ham bone in it.  But this was good.  Very good.  I didn’t even miss the meat!  The complexity from the roasted garlic and tomatoes was just enough to elevate this soup.

I made mine in the slow cooker, using dried beans.  Added the roasted garlic and tomatoes during the last hour of cooking.

Caribbean Black Bean Soup with Roasted Garlic and Tomatoes

• 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  4 whole fresh or canned plum tomatoes, with juice
  Salt
  ½ pound Black Valentine or Black Beans, cooked with reserved broth
  ½ medium yellow or white onion, chopped
  1 jalapeno chili, chopped
  1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
  1 ½ teaspoon cumin seeds toasted and ground
  1 teaspoon dried oregano
  ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  Freshly ground pepper
  Sour cream for garnishing
  1 avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced for garnishing
  Fresh cilantro leaves for garnishing

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Put the garlic cloves on a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil and wrap in foil. Put the tomatoes in the baking dish. If using fresh tomatoes, cut them in half and put them cut side down in the dish. Season with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Roast the tomatoes and garlic till soft, fragrant and brown about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the beans and their broth in a soup pot and warm over low heat.
In a medium heavy skillet over medium-high heat, warm the 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Add the onion, chili, carrot and sauté till fragrant and beginning to caramelize about 10 minutes.
Add the cooked vegetables, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and chicken broth to the beans.
Peel the roasted garlic cloves. Chop the garlic cloves and tomatoes coarsely. Add the garlic and roasted tomatoes to the beans.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook till the vegetables are soft and the flavors are blended, about 15 minutes.
Let the soup cool slightly. Transfer about half the soup to a blender. Blend until smooth.
Return to the soup to the pot, stir and adjust the seasoning.
Ladle the soup into warm bowls and garnish with sour cream, avocado slices and cilantro.

Serves 4

This will be my entry for Souper Sundays (Soup, Salad, or Sammie) hosted by Deb at Kahakai Kitchen.