Smoky tomato and black bean soup

Two words: Hot damn! Followed by one with many syllables: Yeee-oooooooo-w.

I had some leftover chipolte peppers in adobo sauce lurking in my fridge and found this recipe when I was trolling for ideas out in the blogosphere. It combines two of my favorite things - black beans and tomatoes. What an awesome idea for a soup! Right? Well, sort of. Ryan and I nearly offed a gallon of milk trying to eat our respective bowls of soup. It's very good, but very hot. I will make this when I am ill and trying to clear out my sinuses. Or else, I'll decrease the amount of peppers that I put in this bad boy.

Smoky Tomato and Black Bean Soup

Source: Caviarandcodfish.com

serves a few hungry people as a first-course or lunch

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

half of one (7 oz.) can of chipolte peppers in adobo, with sauce (I'd halve this amount)

1 (30 oz.) can black beans, drained

1 (28 oz.) can fire-roasted whole tomatoes, with liquid

1 cup water

1 small bunch fresh oregano (I omitted)

salt, pepper

Take half of peppers out of the can, split them open with a paring knife and scrape out the seeds. *(This part is a pain in the arse, but if you don't get rid of the seeds, this will be even hotter.) Discard seeds. Chop peppers. Add oil into a big saucepan or medium dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions, cooking until they begin to brown. Add garlic and chilis and about half the adobo sauce. Cook for a few minutes. Add black beans and tomatoes with liquid and water. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon, leaving them in chunks. Bring to a boil. Skim off the foam if you are particular like that, and then lower the heat. Add fresh oregano and simmer gently for the flavors to meld, 15 minutes if you are famished, 45 minutes if you can wait. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

**Another note - Ryan and I were starving the other night and had some of this soup in the fridge and some leftover rice from our jambalaya. So I combined 'em. And it tasted excellent. Keep this in mind for a second-day makeover or something like that.