Looking over my blog recently, I came to a frightening realization: I haven’t written a bean soup recipe. As a self-proclaimed bean enthusiast, I knew I had to rectify this situation immediately, and I set off to work accordingly. When cooking with beans, I love to highlight their deep, earthy flavors. In this soup, there are two elements driving the flavor. First are the sweet potatoes; they add a sweetness to the soup with additional comforting earth tones. Then, to literally spice things up, there are the dried chilis. I use both an ancho chili and a chipotle chili, each bringing its own flavor profile. The ancho is a mild, sweeter, and more acidic chili which brings brightness to the dish, whereas the chipotle pepper is smoky and spicy. They work together to bring a magically spicy, fragrant, and smoky flavor to the soup.

The soup is rounded out by some of the typical suspects: onion, carrot, celery, and my personal favorite green to put in soup, kale. Kale added near the end keeps a nice leafy and almost chewy texture, providing a pleasant contrast to the softness of the sweet potatoes and beans. As always, I recommend using delicious homemade beans, which can be augmented even further by using either locally grown beans or heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo (my favorite beans for this dish are the Bayo Chocolate Beans). Lastly, if you can’t find the chili peppers whole or don’t have a means of grinding them, feel free to use your favorite chili powder. As always, I hope this delicious recipe finds a way into your home soon.

Active time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

Spices

• 1 whole dried ancho chili
• 1 whole dried chipotle chili
• 1 black cardamom pod
• ½ cinnamon baton (or 1 tsp ground cinnamon)
• 1 tbsp ground coffee
• 2 tsp whole cumin (or 1 ½ tsp ground)
• 1 ½ tsp salt

Everything else

• 2 large yellow onions, diced
• 2-3 medium carrots, diced
• 5-6 stalks celery, diced
• 4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 cups cooked black beans (or two 15oz cans)
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cup bean cooking liquid (if beans are homemade; otherwise substitute with water)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves broken into small bits
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Diced white onion, for garnish
• Sliced avocado, for garnish
• Olive oil, for cooking

Directions

1. Prepare your spices. If you have a spice grinder, combine all spices in the grinder and pulse until uniform. If not, no worries; for the chili peppers and cardamom pod, simply pierce them with a fork and set them aside. We will simmer the stew with them whole and remove them later. Use pre-ground versions for the remaining spices.
2. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to create a thin layer over the bottom and add the onion, carrot, celery, and a small pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent and beginning to brown slightly, roughly 9-12 minutes.
3. Add in all the spices. Continue to sauté, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes to toast the spices, then add the sweet potatoes, black beans, nutritional yeast, bean cooking liquid, bay leaves, and 8 cups of water. Stir to combine and increase the heat to high. Once simmering, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. At this point, the potatoes should be nearly soft. Stir in the kale and the apple cider vinegar and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt level if needed.
5. Remove the 2 bay leaves (and the whole chilis/cardamom if you did not grind them). To improve the texture, we are going to partially blend the soup. If you have an immersion blender, simply pulse it for 5-10 seconds. If you only have a traditional blender, scoop two full ladles into the blender, carefully blend until smooth, and pour it back into the pot. This will give the soup a richer, smoother consistency.
6. Spoon the soup into large bowls, top with your choice of chopped white onion or avocado (or both!) and enjoy!