Black Bean Soup

• This is a soup I make regularly and I love the colour contrasts.
• It is a vegetable soup with black beans.
• Black beans are also called turtle beans and are a variety of the common bean.
• You can make it slightly different every time by altering some of the vegetables.
• I use tinned black beans, which is easier but you can always cook them from dried beans – just takes longer.

Ingredients

• 3-4 sticks of celery
• 1 onion
• 2 -3 carrots
• 1 courgette 
• 3 -4 tomatoes
• 1 tin of black beans
• 1½ litres of vegetable stock
• 1-2 tablespoons of butter
• ½ teaspoon of paprika
• ¼ teaspoon of chilli flakes
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

• Chop the celery into fine slices.
• Chop the onion into small pieces
• Chop the carrots into small cubes.
• Place the tomatoes into boiling water to remove the skins.
• Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.
• Chop the courgette into small pieces. 
• In a saucepan melt the butter and gently cook the celery and onion for a few minutes.
• Add the carrots and tomatoes and the stock.
• Add the paprika and chilli flakes.
• Mix well together.
• Bring the soup to the boil and them simmer with a lid on the pan for around 20 minutes. 
• Drain the beans from the tin and add these to the soup.
• Season to taste,
• Simmer for another 15 – 20 minutes.