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Black Bean Poblano Soup

 

This black bean poblano soup is made by blending veggies together and pairing with roasted poblanos and hominy for an easy meal!

If you have been here for awhile you know in our house Soup Sundays are a real thing.  Most Sundays I am making a pot of soup for us for dinner and then to have leftovers thru the week.  I love a good potato soup.  But this particular Sunday I was looking for something spicy.  My husband and I once took a cooking class at Sur La Table (great date idea!) and we made posole soup.  It was delicious!  So I decided to fuse the two together to make this black bean poblano soup.

Roasting Poblano Peppers

This soup uses six roasted poblano peppers.  I used to be intimidated by roasting peppers in the oven until I realized it’s actually really easy.  It just causes a little mess.  Here is how to make roasted peppers at home:

    1. Use the broiler to char the peppers.  Just be sure to watch them so they don’t burn but a few minutes a side will do the trick.
    2. Let the peppers cool before handling.  You can even place in a brown bag (I even use large brown grocery bags if you don’t have lunch bags on hand!) so the skin steams a little and makes pulling it off easy.
    3. Once the peppers are cooled pull off the charred skin
    4. Remove the stem from the peppers.  While you are doing this you can usually pull out the seed pod in the middle.
    5. Rip or cut your pepper open and discard the remaining seeds.  I often rinse the peppers to get the seeds off.  However sometimes when the water hits the pepper it makes me cough so be careful
    6. Chop up your peppers

One thing to note, poblanos CAN be spicy.  If you don’t want to irritate your hands you can use kitchen gloves during this process.

Posole Inspiration

One of the key ingredients in posole soup is hominy.  Hominy is well known in Mexican cuisine.  It is corn that is soaked in a mixture called lye (learn more here [3]).  Then it is washed and used to make masa flour or put into dishes like posole.  Hominy looks like bloated corn since it’s been soaked but the taste is unique.  It does not taste like your average canned corn.  It is definitely worth trying.  You can usually get it in your Mexican food aisle or I order this organic version [4] as well.

In addition to the hominy tortillas are used when blending the soup to give the soup a little extra dimension.  The tortillas act like masa flour to help thicken the soup.  The combination of the tortillas plus the potatoes makes the soup nice and creamy.  You really don’t even need the cream but I do like the sweetness the heavy cream provides to this black bean poblano soup.

How to make it

This is soup is so easy.  While the poblanos roast in the oven the other veggies cook together.  Then those veggies are blended together.  The black beans, poblano peppers and hominy are added to the pureed mix to provide some texture to the soup.  The splash of heavy cream at the end gives the soup a hint of sweetness.

Then you can top this soup with toppings of your choice.  Sour cream, scallions, avocado, jalapenos, even a jack cheese all pair nicely with the black bean poblano soup. 

So the next time you want to be adventurous and try something new, be sure to make this black bean poblano soup.  Also remember, if you try this recipe be sure to rate it and leave a comment below and let me know how you like it. Or tag me on Instagram [5] or #eatbreathelove!

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Black Bean Poblano Soup


Description

This black bean poblano soup is made by blending veggies together and pairing with roasted poblanos and hominy for an easy meal!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 small or 1 medium yellow onion, large dice
  • 6 poblano peppers
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, rough chopped
  • 68 garlic cloves left whole
  • 2 carrots, peeled, rough chopped
  • 2 medium zucchini, rough chopped
  • 2 russet potatoes, peeled, large chop
  • 6 cups broth (I used chicken but veggie broth would work as well)
  • 2 TBS cumin
  • 2 corn tortillas
  • 2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 28 oz can hominy (or 2 14 oz cans)
  • 1/4 c heavy cream
  • Additional toppings – radishes, scallions, Monterey Jack or queso fresco cheese, avocado, fresh lime wedges

Instructions

  1. Place poblanos on a cookie sheet and broil under broiler on high checking every few minutes.  You want the peppers to get charred.  Be sure to flip so all sides get a nice dark brown.  Set aside and let cool.  See this section [7] for more detailed instructions.
  2. While the peppers are cooking, in a large soup pot with 1 TBS of fat of your choice (butter, avocado oil, olive oil) sauté onions, garlic, carrots, bay leaves and leeks over medium to medium low heat for 8-10 minutes until soft.
  3. While veggies are softening remove the skin from your peppers as well as the seeds.  I sometimes will rinse the seeds off just be careful when it hits the water it may make you cough! Then chop the poblanos into a large dice.
  4. Add the potatoes, zucchini, cumin, half of the poblano peppers and the broth to the soup.  Season with salt and pepper.  Turn up to medium high heat.  Cook 10-15 minutes until you can pierce the potatoes easily with a fork.
  5. In batches, puree the soup in a blender or Vitamix until smooth.  Add the tortillas to the soup as you are pureeing so the tortillas get blended up.  Add back to the soup pot.
  6. Add in black beans, hominy, heavy cream and the remaining poblano peppers.  Heat over medium low heat for 5 more minutes until everything is warmed through.
  7. Serve with toppings of your choice.

Notes

  • For a vegetarian version use veggie broth for soup
  • For a vegan version use veggie broth, omit heavy cream and top with a vegan cheese
  • For a meaty meal you can shred a rotisserie chicken and add at the very end
  • Prep Time: 10M
  • Cook Time: 30M
  • Category: soup