Yes my friends, it is the dead of summer and I’m talking soup. I know it’s hard to believe right now, but in just a few short months we will be welcoming fall. Windows that have been shut against the summer’s brutal heat will be thrown open to let in a bit of autumnal cool. Shorts, tank tops, and flip flops will be traded for turtlenecks, wool trousers, and boots. I even know people who change their home decor accessories…curtains, pillows, blankets, and linens…from summer to fall. I know them, but I’m not one of them.
Just as you need to trade your summer gear for your fall wardrobe, you also need to dust off the fall recipes that have been relegated to the back of the recipe box over the summer. Personally, I like this soup anytime of year but it’s definitely got a fall vibe to it. If you’re reading this in Australia, then now is the perfect time to make this. And if you’re not, you could make this now and pretend that the leaves have begun to change color and that your thoughts will soon turn to shoveling snow or you could wait until the calendar has flipped a few more pages into the year. Either way, I highly recommend you make this soup. It’s from the folks at Fine Cooking and it is indeed some fine cooking…regardless of whether the air conditioner is running at full steam or the fireplace is lit.
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup
Adapted from Fine Cooking
BAH Note: This recipe assumes that you don’t have a stash of those braised onions in your fridge or freezer. Because if you did, I’m sure you would substitute a half cup or so of those for the sliced onion called for. You would, wouldn’t you?
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 3/4 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 quart chicken broth
- 2 cans (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
Heat the oil in a dutch oven or stock pot set over medium heat. Add the onions and cook about 5 to 10 minutes until the onions begin to soften. Add the coriander, cumin, and a pinch of kosher salt and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, black beans, and sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 30 minutes until the sweet potatoes are soft. Skim any foam that may accumulate.
Set aside 1 to 2 cups of the cooked black beans and sweet potatoes and then carefully puree the rest of the soup in a blender. Add the reserved beans and potatoes back to the pot with the soup, taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired.
Bon Appetit Hon 
This looks fabulous! I’m so ready for the fall… I don’t really change my home decor (other than putting a few pumpkins around for decoration… I have a bit of a pumpkin obsession). BUT, I cannot wait to make this soup. I’m tempted to crank the AC up so that I can make it this week! Love these flavors!
Jen, I love your spirit…yes, turn up the a/c and enjoy some soup.
Sounds delicious, but definitely fall like. It’s hard to believe with current temperatures & humidity that fall will be here soon, but I am sure it will sneak right up on us!
Hold on to hope Jennifer. Soup season will be here before you know it.
it is scorching out, i haven’t set foot in the kitchen from the one room that has AC unless i’m grabbing the frozen yogurt or a cold drink.
i will have to hold off until at least November before i can venture into soup territory again.
Lan, when you are ready this soup will be there for you. And it will be your comforting friend.
OK, I officially wish I was in Australia right now so that I could eat this soup. As it is, with heat warnings every other day, I’ll put it in my mental ‘reserve’ file for October!
Jenna, I found that this soup freezes pretty well. So it’s definitely worth making a big batch and stashing some away for later…like when it’s too freaking hot to do any real cooking.
Perfect. This is perfect for my awful disgusting cold winter. Warming and delicious. Oh yeah, send me a bowl of this any day. :)))
Anna, you know I thought of you as I wrote this post. It’s ungodly hot here but it’s definitely soup season where you are. Enjoy hon!
If I made this soup and waited til 9pm to eat it; it would be perfect. Thankful we get a cooldown each night…and this one sounds sooooo good. And yes, I might have some of those braised onions actually. 🙂
To say that I am insanely jealous of your nightly cool down would be an understatement Barb.
Could I use vegetable broth?
You can absolutely use vegetable broth instead of chicken.