Bean and Tomato Soup
Sopa de Frijol y JitomateThis mild bean soup is an excellent starter course when a spicy dish follows. Try to cook the beans one day ahead; the beans will taste better, making for a more flavorful soup. Another way of serving the soup is to offer crisp tortilla wedges to be crumbled into the soup at the table, for crunch and extra flavor.
Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
- 1 cup dried small pinto beans
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano Mexican variety preferred, crumbled
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
- ½ large white onion chopped
- 4 medium garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper or to taste
- ¼ cup loosely packed coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 green onions finely chopped
- ¼ to ⅓ cup Mexican crema or sour cream
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Sort the beans and remove any small pebbles or other debris.
- Put the beans in a strainer and rinse well.
- Put the beans, water, oregano, and cumin into a 2-quart saucepan, and bring to a boil, uncovered.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer the beans until tender and the broth thickens, about 2 hours.
- Heat the oil in a medium skillet, and cook the onion and garlic, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Scrape the skillet contents into a blender jar or food processor.
- Add the cooked beans, tomatoes, salt, and pepper.
- Blend until smooth.
- Return the puréed soup to the same pan.
- Add the cilantro and green onions.
- Bring the soup to a boil over medium-low heat, then reduce the heat to low, and cook about 5 minutes to blend the flavors.
- Stir the soup often, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking or scorching.
- Serve the soup hot with a dab or decorative drizzle of the crema on top.
- Pass the lime wedges at the table.