Black Bean And Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Total Time: 2 hrs 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 2 -3 bay leaves
• 3 cups dried black beans, sorted and rinsed
• 9 cups water, filtered
• sea salt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 6 slices fresh ginger, finely minced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced or 2 serrano peppers
• 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 3 red bell peppers
• 32 ounces low sodium vegetable broth (or no sodium)
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely minced

Recipe

• 1 place bay leaf, beans and water in a heavy pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, and boil, uncovered, 10 minutes. reduce heat, cover, and simmer until beans are tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. season with salt to taste and simmer about 10 minutes longer.
• 2 *lightly oil the skins of the red peppers. place whole peppers over an open gas flame until the outer skin is charred black. transfer to a paper sack, seal tightly and allow to steam about 10 minutes. gently rub charred skin from peppers, removing all charred skin. cut in half and remove seeds. dice peppers.
• 3 heal oil in skillet over medium heat. add onion, ginger, garlic and chiles and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. stir in tomatoes and a light seasoning of salt. simmer until tomatoes are heated through. toss in roasted red peppers.
• 4 when beans are completely cooked, discard bay leaves, add in the vegetable broth, bring to a boil for a couple minutes, reduce heat to a simmer, for about 5 minutes. stir in vegetables and simmer another minute or two. add parsley and serve.
• 5 *if you don't have a gas stove, oil the peppers, cut in half lengthwise, lay them cut side down on a baking sheet, seeds intact. place them under a hot broiler until the skins are charred. (then steam in bag and peel).
• 6 freeze any left overs in individual serving size containers for quick and easy meals.