Cocoa-Black Bean Soup

Hey guys!

So a few years ago, I had a really bad day. It was full of first world problems and an awful boss but my friend Stefan, being the awesome guy he is, decided to cheer me up by taking me out for supper. We tried one place....and it was closed so we decided to go to this cool little restaurant attached to a bookstore in our town. I will never forget the soup that they served that day. It was a cocoa-black bean soup.....I'll just let you imagine for a second how good that would taste. Now take what you imagined and multiply it by 10. That's how great it was. So, a few years later and this soup pops back into my head, so what do I do? Start surfing the net for an awesome recipe is what I do!

So! This is what you'll need for an amazing Cocoa-Black bean soup!:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 cup no-salt-added tomato purée
2 low-sodium vegetable bouillon cubes
4 cups water
1 (25-ounce) can low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (or hot paprika)
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

 This soup is pretty simple to make.

First, heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and add onion, bay leaves, and salt. Stir occasionally until onions are softened (4–5 minutes).

Next, add celery, carrots, and green pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until all vegetables are softened (7–8 minutes).

Then, add tomato purée, bouillon cubes, and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender.

Next, stir in beans, cocoa, pepper, and paprika and return to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

This is what I ended up with!

This soup was full of lovely flavors. You can't really taste the cocoa but it adds a creaminess to the broth as well as helping the other flavors taste even stronger. My mom couldn't stop raving and asking for the recipe!

Well, that's all for now.

Cheers,

Danielle