Brazilian Black Bean Soup (Caldo de Feijão)

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare your ingredients: fine-dice 150g yellow onion into 0.5 cm pieces and mince 15g garlic. Slice 200g smoked sausage into 0.5 cm thick half-moons. Coarsely chop 15g fresh cilantro. Open 800g canned black beans without draining them. Set out a deep soup pot.

2. 2

   Heat 30ml olive oil in the soup pot over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the sliced smoked sausage and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until the edges turn golden brown and fat renders. Reduce heat slightly if the sausage browning becomes too dark.

3. 3

   Add the diced yellow onion and minced garlic to the pot with the sausage. Sauté over medium-low heat for 4 minutes, stirring continuously so the garlic does not burn, until the onions become soft and translucent.

4. 4

   Stir in 4g ground cumin, 800g canned black beans with their liquid, and 400ml vegetable broth. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then lower to medium-low, cover partially, and simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.

5. 5

   Use an immersion blender directly in the pot to blend about half of the soup until smooth, leaving plenty of whole bean and sausage texture. Stir with a wooden spoon to blend the silky base throughout the pot.

6. 6

   Season the soup with a pinch of salt and black pepper, then stir in 15g chopped fresh cilantro. Remove the pot from heat. Ladle the hot black bean soup into warm bowls and serve immediately with fresh lime wedges if desired.