The Black Bean Diaries - Souper Soup

Both M & H are always looking for quick & easy meals that pack a nutritional punch. We've posted a couple of bean-centric dishes before here and here, but it's cold and rainy this week, so we figured a soup would be the perfect comfort food for a rainy night.  Ohh, and this is probably one of the healthiest  recipes you'll ever make -- you remember that childhood rhyme, beans beans, they're good for your heart.....we'll stop there....moving on...

M assembled this recipe after searching high and low for a black bean soup that had the different flavor layers she was looking for.  The difference in this one over those she'd previously made, is adding tomatoes, avocado & a pinch of nutmeg.  She has to give credit to Shape Magazine, Runners World, Ina Garten, and many, many others (ahem, Pinterest).  Here's what you do...

Ingredients:
2 cans of black beans, drained
1 yellow onion, peeled & diced into small pieces
5 garlic cloves, crushed, then minced
4 carrots, peeled & chopped into small pieces
1 cup tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil

Optional Toppings
avocado, (make sure it's ripe, there's nothing worse than an un-ripe avocado)
red onion
corn bread/any bread really
tortilla chips

Spices:
Paprika - 1 tablespoon
Cumin - 3 tablespoons
Cayanne Pepper - 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon (some like it hot, some don't)
Cinnamon - 1/4 teaspoon
Nutmeg - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt & Pepper - to taste

What you'll need:
Dutch oven or large-ish pot
Cutting board & knives
Peeler
Food processor or blender

Directions:
To cut down on instructions, I listed what you need to do to the fresh ingredients above so that I don't have to list them here.
  
1. Once you've finished slicing and dicing above, slowly heat the olive oil in your dutch oven/large-ish pot until it's hot, add the onions, cook for 2 minutes.

2. Add carrots & garlic to the mixture, cook for another 2 or 3 minutes.

3. Add your spices & tomatoes, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until the veggies are soft.

4. Add the black beans to the mixture, then add water to the pot until it reaches about a 1/2 inch above the vegetables.

5. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes covered.  Make sure to check the pot every once in awhile to stir or add more water if necessary.

6. Remove the cover and cook for another 30 minutes.

7. Pour your soup into a blender and pulse until you get a consistency to your liking.

8. Serve in bowls with whatever topping you like, my favorite is with a few slices of avocado and corn bread on the side.  Enjoy!

*Sidenote - I took pictures with my iPhone and unfortunately NONE of the finished product pictures came out good enough to post (lame) so I'll make it again next week and take better pictures, I promise!

Do you have any go-to black bean recipes?