Rick Bayless's Black Bean Soup Recipe | Cook the Book

Updated August 09, 2018

black bean soup with tortilla chips — Caroline Russock

The majority of recipes I write about here in Cook the Book end up being my dinner and this week's selection has posed a bit of a problem. You see, with the exception of ramen and pho, I've never been one to be satisfied with soup as a meal. I suppose the closest I ever get to serving soup for dinner is a bowl of chili, but that really doesn't count as soup, at least not in my book.

While searching through Clifford A. Wright's The Best Soups in the World, I was on the lookout for recipes that would be truly satisfying, soups that you could really sink your teeth into without having to resort to an entire loaf of bread to really fill you up.

This adaptation of Rick Bayless's Black Bean Soup was just what I had in mind. Reading the ingredients list, this could make some tasty tacos or tostadas if it weren't for the 12 cups of water called for in the recipe. There was no doubt in my mind that this combination of shrimp, black beans, tortillas, and queso fresco would make a soup that didn't leave me wanting something else.

I must preface my step-by-step breakdown of this recipe by saying that I cheated a bit during the preparation. Last week's Boston "Baked" Beans taught me that dried beans don't have to resort to hours of cooking, so I broke out the pressure cooker to cut down on the simmering time for this soup. As expected, it worked like a charm, and the pressure-cooked beans simmered with the onion, fennel, chipotle chiles, and chorizo for a little less than an hour to become tender and flavorful.

I whizzed it up using the immersion blender and plopped in the shrimp. The shrimp essentially poached in the soup, and I finished my bowls with the queso fresco called for in the recipe, along with some cubed avocado, chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

The soup turned out thick and deeply flavorful with a surprising amount of spice, thanks to the chipotle chiles and chorizo. The shrimp were a nice addition, but I don't think the soup needed them at all; the beans, chips, and cheese made for a hearty soup that left me happily sated and scraping down the sides of the bowl.

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Recipe Details

Rick Bayless's Black Bean Soup Recipe | Cook the Book

Cook 2 hrs 30 mins

Soaking Time 60 mins

Total 3 hrs 30 mins

Serves 4 servings

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Ingredients

3/4 pound (1 1/2 cups) dried black beans, picked over
12 cups water
6 ounces (about 1 link) Mexican-style chorizo, casing removed and crumbled
1 stalk fennel, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
4 teaspoons salt, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined if necessary
5 corn tostadas, broken up or a handful of corn tortilla chips
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco or cheddar cheese

Directions

In a large pot, place beans and cover with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat off and let beans sit for 1 hour. Drain.
Return beans to the pot and cover with the remaining 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low, stir in chorizo, fennel, onion, and chipotle chiles in adobo, partially cover, and simmer until the beans are tender, about 2 hours.
Transfer soup to a blender, in batches if necessary, and blend until it forms a smooth purée. Return soup to the pot, add salt and pepper, stir, and heat over medium heat until hot, then add shrimp and cook until they are orange-red, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve soup in individual bowls garnished with tostadas and crumbled cheese.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
631	Calories
25g	Fat
71g	Carbs
34g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	631
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g	32%
Saturated Fat 10g	48%
Cholesterol 51mg	17%
Sodium 2933mg	128%
Total Carbohydrate 71g	26%
Dietary Fiber 16g	56%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 34g
Vitamin C 6mg	28%
Calcium 253mg	19%
Iron 6mg	31%
Potassium 1640mg	35%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.