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Black Bean Soup with Fried Egg

I recently ate a bowl of phenomenal black bean soup at Bonita in Brooklyn and I've been on the hunt for a good recipe since. The soup was rich and deep with a healthy punch of spice and a mouthwatering acidity, and topped with a fried egg. It's easy to make black bean soup if you've recently cooked a pot of black beans from dry—the bean-cooking liquor is the perfect liquid base because it has all that body and flavor. But I wanted to find something that would taste great from canned black beans for a weeknight meal.

Many Cuban recipes I found had a long list of ingredients, too many to fit the bill. In the end, I relied on a simple recipe from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Bittman purées a cup of the beans to give it that body, and relies on simple pantry ingredients like chili powder for the kick. He stirs in the spices to the sautéeing onions, building the flavor early on, and uses lime juice for the acidity. The fried egg was my own addition, which I added instead of the called-for yogurt or sour cream garnish.

About the author: Blake Royer founded The Paupered Chef with Nick Kindelsperger, where he writes about food and occasional travels. He is currently living for the year in Tartu, Estonia.

Ingredients

1. 3 tablespoons canola or olive oil
2. 2 medium onions, chopped
3. 2 cloves garlic, minced
4. 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder, or more to taste
5. 2 15-ounce cans black beans, or 3 cups cooked from dry
6. 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
7. Juice of 1 lime, or to taste
8. Sour cream or plain yogurt to garnish, or 1 egg
9. 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and chili powder and cook, stirring constantly, for an additional minute.
2. Add the beans, stock, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes.
3. If using the egg, heat an additional tablespoon of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat in the meantime. Add the egg, cover, and fry slowly until the whites are completely set and the yolk is to your liking (I prefer it soft so it disperses into the soup).
4. To thicken the soup, purée it briefly with a stick blender, transfer half through food mill or into a blender, or just mash it by hand. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice. Adjust seasoning as necessary, garnish with cilantro and egg or yogurt or sour cream. Serve immediately.

Post Title

Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits

The smoky, savory biscuits are great toasted with a pat of butter, and the perfect accompaniment to a big bowl of tomato soup.

Ingredients

1. 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3. 1 tablespoon chipotle powder
4. 1 tablespoon sugar
5. 1 tablespoon baking powder
6. 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
7. 1 teaspoon salt
8. 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1-inch pieces
9. 2 cups grated and tightly packed sharp cheddar cheese
10. 1 1/4 Cups Buttermilk
11. 1 large egg
12. Kosher salt for topping

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pepper, chipotle powder, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and the 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. Add the butter and, using your hands or the back of a wooden spoon, work the butter into the dough. The mixture should look like coarse sand. Add the cheese and stir to thoroughly incorporate it into the dough.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
5. Use a small ice cream scoop or a 1/4-cup measuring cup to scoop the dough and drop it in mounds onto the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with kosher salt and bake in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a biscuit comes out clean.
6. Transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack.