Meatless Monday: Latin-Style Smoky Tomato Soup with Bell Peppers, Black Beans & Corn
This past weekend was just glorious. For the first time in months, I didn't have to work the weekend, we had no guests visiting and we weren't traveling. The cookiemonster and I did what we do best and patronized as many food and coffee establishments as we could.
We checked out the new Northeast bean slinger, Anelace Coffee, and had an excellent cardamom latte. We ventured south to the Kingfield and Fulton indoor farmers market at Bachman's later Saurday morning, had a fabulous dinner at Corner Table (the night before their chef won the Cochon 555 competition, no less), had some savory oatmeal and Colectivo Coffee (a V60 slow pour) at Victory 44, an impromptu lunch at Lucia's and even found ourselves in Northfield, Minnesota at one point, devouring locally made bagels (Tandem Bagels) and cupcakes (CakeWalk). If you're not already following @MinneappleEats on nstagram, now is the time to start.
I'm not sure if our 5.5 mile walk on the chain of lakes and my hot yoga double-header canceled out any of our gratuitous eating , but that's where a light and easy Meatless Monday fits in! Detox to retox, right? Originally, I had some ill-planned idea to make something with a bunch of avocados, only to find they had spoiled and for the most part, couldn't be used. As a result, I ended up creating this very filling and flavorful soup and used the tiny bit of avocado I could salvage to make avocado toasts with toasted pepita seeds. I'd say things turned out for the better.
Latin-Style Smoky Tomato Soup with Bell Peppers, Black Beans & Corn
Serves: 2-3
Preparation Time: 20-30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled & diced
3-4 mini bell peppers or 1 large (red, yellow or orange), cut
2 tbsp. cilantro, fresh or paste (I used paste)
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. smoked paprika
2 bay leaves
pinch of salt (I used smoked salt)
1 c. broth of your choice
1 15-oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 tsp. hot sauce of your choice (I used Valentina)
1 tbsp. chipotle/adobo sauce
1/2 tsp. maple syrup (or honey)
a few drops liquid smoke
a splash of lime juice
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 c. frozen sweet corn
To serve:
more cilantro, if desired
toast
1 avocado, mashed with a pinch of salt & lime
pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted
Method:
1. In a Dutch oven or medium-sized pot, heat 1 tsp. olive oil. Add diced onion, carrot and bell peppers. Saute until they start to soften slightly. Add in cilantro, chili powder, cumin, paprika, bay leaves and salt. Continue to saute.
2. When the pot has started to dry out and the vegetables are slightly soft and golden, deglaze pan with a little bit of broth, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Then add in rest of the broth and tomatoes. Bring to a gentle simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
3. Once the tomatoes have broken down a bit and the vegetables are soft, add chipotle sauce, maple syrup, liquid smoke and lime juice. Stir to combine and then add drained and rinsed black beans. If more broth is necessary, add this now. Cover pot and simmer for 5 minutes more.
4. Add frozen corn and stir. Leave over heat until everything is warmed. Top with cilantro, if desired. Make avocado toasts by smashing an avocado with a pinch of salt and lime. Spread on toast and top with toasted pepitas.
