Black Bean Soup and Cornbread

Black Bean Soup and Cornbread may sound simple but it was the perfect comfort food for tonight's dinner. The weather in Seattle was lovely today but dark clouds started rolling over the mountains and across the water this afternoon so it felt like cozy time. When Brad came home, he mentioned that there may even be snow tonight. It is now that cold outside. So, I opened my trusty vegetarian cookbook and found a lovely Black Bean Soup recipe. I love cornbread with bean soups and chili so I immediately decided to look on my package of Bob's Red Mill organic stone ground cornmeal for a "from scratch" cornbread recipe. Good ol' Bob didn't let me down.

Brad declared the Black Bean Soup the best soup I have ever made. I make a lot of soups so this is a high compliment. The cornbread was also really good.....it was definitely not comparable to a mix from a box. This was a more rustic, course, homemade version. I am including both recipes below to hopefully motivate someone else to make these two dishes for dinner. I am that sure you will enjoy them. :)

Black Bean Soup:

2 Tbsp neutral oil like grapeseed or corn (I used grapeseed because I love it)

1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp ground cumin

2 Tbsp sherry or dark rum (I used sherry)

3 cups cooked black beans or (2) 15 ounce cans

1 quart chicken or vegetable stock

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

2 tsp fresh lime juice

Sour cream or plain yogurt for garnish

Minced fresh cilantro for garnish

Put oil in a deep skillet or medium saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add onion and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring for another minute. Stir in sherry then cook for a minute and add beans, stock and some salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to high, bring to boil and then reduce and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat. Use immersion blender, blender or food processor to puree about half of the soup. Add pureed portion back to soup pan. Add lime juice and stir; taste and adjust seasoning. Serve garnished with sour cream and cilantro.

Bob's Red Mill Cornbread:

1 cup Bob's Red Mill medium grind cornmeal

1 cup flower

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sift dry ingredients together in bowl. Add egg, milk and butter. Beat until smooth. Pour into 8" X 8" greased pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

That's it! A delicious meal with just the right amount of preparation. The only change I would make to either of these recipes is to add another can or 1 1/2 cups of black beans to the soup. By the time half of the beans are pureed, it doesn't leave a ton of whole beans in the soup. The soup was still nearly perfect but I think this may make it a bit heartier.