Black Bean & Orange Soup – Winter Soup Club Week 2 Recipe

Black Bean Soup: A Culinary Journey From College Staple to Cozy Comfort Food

A simple bowl of black bean soup represents more than just a meal; it’s a nostalgic trip for many, a testament to resourceful cooking, and a celebration of flavor and texture. As one home cook recalled, black bean soup may very well have been the first soup they ever made, born out of necessity and a student budget in 1980s Austin, Texas.

During those college years, sustenance often came in the form of black beans, ramen noodles, and the occasional splurge of rice, salsa, and cheese. “I survived on my own version of poor cuisine—subsisting on black beans, ramen noodles and, well, more black beans and more ramen noodles,” the cook shared. It was through repeatedly cooking beans from dried – a cost-effective protein source then and now – that the idea for soup first sparked. The flavorful cooking liquid, once discarded, became the foundation for a hearty and satisfying meal.

The Allure of the Bean

This appreciation for utilizing every part of the ingredient extends beyond mere frugality. As one plant-based cooking enthusiast explained, just as resourceful cooks transform chicken carcasses into stock, those embracing a plant-based lifestyle hold a similar reverence for beans and their cooking liquid. “Whenever I cook a pot of beans with plans to use it in various ways throughout the week, at least one of those ways is always, always soup,” they stated.

The versatility of beans even inspired the purchase of a prized kitchen tool: the immersion blender. It wasn’t simply about achieving a perfectly smooth puree, but rather the ability to partially blend the soup, creating a delightful interplay of textures. “My preferred way to eat black bean soup isn’t smooth as silk, and it isn’t with whole intact beans in a broth. It’s with the soup pureed just enough to thicken the broth, with plenty of large pieces of beans (and any other vegetables) still hanging around,” the cook described. This preference speaks to a fundamental human desire for textural variation in food – a concept supported by the fact that a monotonous bowl of oatmeal is often improved with the addition of nuts or dried fruit.

A Cuban-Inspired Twist

Enough preamble, let’s get cooking! This particular recipe draws inspiration from the Cuban tradition of adding orange to black beans during the cooking process. The result is a bright, acidic counterpoint to the earthy beans. This recipe utilizes orange juice and orange pieces added at the end to preserve those vibrant flavors. Aromatic vegetables, cumin, jalapeño, and orange all contribute to the complex flavor profile. The finishing touch? Grated orange zest, delivering a burst of citrus aroma with every spoonful. It’s a reminder that flavor is inextricably linked to smell, and a single-textured soup can feel incomplete without it.

While the author champions the benefits of cooking beans from dried, acknowledging the deeper flavor and complexity it imparts, they also recognize the convenience of canned beans. “That’s because I’m more interested in your making this soup whenever you want it than in insisting you take the time to cook the beans from dried,” they explained. However, for those inclined to take the longer route, the reward is a richer, more nuanced soup.

Black Bean and Orange Soup

By Joe Yonan

Servings: 4-6

Soup Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, plus more to taste
• 2 (14-ounce) cans no-salt-added black beans, with their liquid (see note)
• 3 cups water or vegetable broth
• 2 large navel oranges

Soup Instructions:

1. In a Dutch oven or other heavy-duty pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper and jalapeño and sauté until the vegetables are tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Add the cumin, oregano, and salt and sauté until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and vinegar, stir to combine, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato paste slightly darkens, 1 minute.
3. Add the beans with their liquid and the water, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the flavors marry, 10 minutes.
4. While the beans are cooking, use a rasp-style grater, such as a Microplane, to finely grate the oranges’ peel. You should have about 2 teaspoons; save it for serving.
5. Use your knife to cut the remaining peel off the oranges, removing all the white pith as you cut. Use your hands to squeeze the juice from both peeled oranges into the pot with the beans, then chop the juiced oranges into small pieces and add them to the pot. Stir to combine, cover, and cook until the orange pieces are heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Using an immersion (hand-held) blender, puree the soup briefly, just long enough to thicken it while leaving plenty of texture. (Alternatively, you can remove 2 cups of the soup, puree it in a blender, and return it to the pot to rewarm.) Taste and season with more salt and/or vinegar as needed.
7. Divide among serving bowls, sprinkle grated orange zest over each soup, and serve hot.

Note: This recipe calls for canned beans, but if you’re so inclined it’s even better with beans cooked from dried: You’ll want to use 3 to 3 ½ cups of cooked beans and at least 1 cup of their cooking liquid (or up to 4 cups if you’ve got it, using that instead of water).

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

Substitutions:

• To make it less spicy: Use half the jalapeño.
• To make it more spicy: Include the jalapeño seeds and/or use serrano instead.
• Yellow onion: white onion.
• Green bell pepper: red, orange or yellow bell pepper.
• Apple cider vinegar: red wine vinegar.
• Canned black beans: Beans cooked from dried.

This black bean and orange soup is a testament to the power of simple ingredients, resourceful cooking, and the enduring comfort of a warm bowl of soup.