Black Bean & Chorizo Soup with Sweety Drops

Few things improve black bean soup more than spicy chorizo with a counter balance of sweet peppers. Don’t forget the shredded white cheddar on top!

Spring is fickle. We were all so excited for the arrival of spring only to get blasted with cold. On the up side it is usually sunny on the cold days, but the few warm days we have been getting here in central Ohio also come with lots of rain. Just in case you were getting your hopes up for nice weather and getting out into your garden that is being slowly conquered by weeds. I suppose warm and rainy is better than cold and rainy but come on spring, stop being a tease!

Since it’s felt more like the beginning of winter lately than spring (we even got a dusting of snow to prove it), it seemed appropriate to bust out the big bowls for a warm-you-up-from-the-inside soup. I’ve shared a similar recipe before but this time instead of bell peppers I used these fun little sweety drop miniature peppers, which are sweet, tear-shaped peppers. I hunted high and low for these silly things and ended up buying them off Amazon.com. Of course right after, a friend sent me a photo of them located  in the olive bar at one of the grocery stores I didn’t check. At least I know where to get them in the future! If you can’t find them either and don’t want to buy it off Amazon, substitute with chopped red bell pepper.

One year ago: Corn on the Hog Pizza

Two years ago: Single Serving White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispies Treat

Four years ago: Pretzel Crusted Peanut Butter Blondies with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Five years ago: Spicy Mac and Cheese

BLACK BEAN, CHORIZO AND SWEETY DROP SOUP

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 lb. chorizo, casing removed

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

2 ribs of celery, chopped

1-2 cloves gar­lic, minced

1 Tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 Tbsp light brown sugar

1 Tbsp red wine vine­gar

2 cans black beans, 1 can rinsed and drained

1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken stock, plus more if needed

4.3 oz. jar Sweety Drop miniature peppers, drained

Salt and pepper, to taste

Crushed red pepper, to taste (optional)

Shredded white cheddar, garnish

Chopped cilantro, garnish

Directions:

1. Add oil to a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chorizo, crumble, and cook until browned and no longer pink, stir­ring often. Trans­fer to a plate lined with paper tow­el and set aside.
2. Add the onion to the same pan and cook until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add carrots, celery, garlic, oregano, and cumin. Stir­ to com­bine, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 6-8 min­utes, stir­ring occa­sion­ally, until ten­der and fragrant.
3. Trans­fer the mix­ture to a food processor/blender (or leave in pot and use an immersion blender). Add the brown sugar, vine­gar, and one can of the beans including the liq­uid. Process until fairly smooth.
4. Return the mix­ture to the pan and add the remain­ing drained black beans, stock, chorizo, and sweety drops. Sea­son with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. Cook over medium to medium-low heat for 6-8 min­utes, adding a little more broth if necessary to reach desired consistency.
5. Divide the soup among indi­vid­ual bowls and gar­nish with cheese and cilantro if desired.

Source: Adapted slightly from my Black Bean & Chorizo Soup.

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