Quick Mexican Chipotle Black Bean Soup
I developed this recipe for my 8-quart Ninja Foodi, but it’s adaptable for use in any brand of electric pressure cookers. This recipe calls for chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Sold with Mexican food ingredients, they’re canned peppers with spices in a vinegary sauce. I remove what I need, then divide the remaining peppers and adobo into snack-size ziptop bags (two peppers per bag) and toss these into the freezer. This way, I have them on hand for soups, meat marinades, or to blend into salsas. I place the unopened bag into a hot cup of water for 30 to 40 seconds to thaw. To keep this recipe vegan, skip the queso fresco and Mexican crema.
Makes 6 servings
1 pound bag black beans
1⁄2 white onion, cut root to tip, outer skin layer removed 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, plus 1 teaspoon of the adobo 3 fat cloves garlic, peeled 11⁄2 teaspoons coarse sea salt 1 tablespoon ground cumin
1⁄4 teaspoon ground allspice
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon baking soda
6 cups boiling water (see Note)
FOR THE QUESO GARNISH: 5 ounces queso fresco, crumbled 1⁄4 cup minced white onion
1⁄4 cup minced cilantro
TO SERVE:
1 cup frozen corn, thawed 1 avocado, diced Cilantro leaves Mexican crema, optional Lime wedges
Pick through the beans, discarding pebbles, shriveled and broken beans. Place the beans into a water-filled bowl and swish to remove debris. Drain and repeat. Place the rinsed beans in the inner pot of the electric pressure cooker. Toss in the onion, peppers with their adobo sauce, garlic, salt, cumin, allspice, cloves and baking soda. Pour in the water and stir. Lock on the pressure cooking lid, making sure to set the valve to seal. Set the mode to Pressure Cook on high for 40 minutes (set to Manual on an Instant Pot and use the [+] and [-] buttons to change the cooking time). When the timer goes off, allow the pressure cooker to release naturally for 20 minutes, then quick-release the remaining pressure. Fish out and transfer the onion, garlic and chipotle peppers to a blender. Add 11⁄2 cups of the beans and 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Blend until smooth, then return to pot, stirring to incorporate. Close the lid and allow to sit while you prepare garnishes.
To make the queso garnish: Crumble the queso into a small bowl and stir in the onions and cilantro.
To serve: Divide the soup among six bowls and garnish each bowl with corn, some queso garnish, diced avocado and cilantro leaves. Drizzle with Mexican crema, if using. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over the bowl just before eating.
To store: Transfer soup to an airtight container and allow it to cool, uncovered. Once thoroughly cooled, cover and refrigerate for up to 6 days.
Note: When it comes to electric pressure cookers, adding hot water instead of cold helps them come up to pressure faster, but cold tap water is fine if you prefer not to boil the water first.