Smokey Black Bean Soup

As a vegan, black bean soup has been a main go to forever when I go out to eat.  Although at home, I can't ever seem to find a recipe that works as well as I want it to! Finally, I have found the perfect mix of flavor and simplicity that I want to go to over and over again.  Before you start, you are going to need 2 things you may or may not have in your pantry, so prepare accordingly: liquid smoke and vegan Worcestershire.  You CAN find it at Whole Foods right next to the liquid smoke! One stop shop!

3 TBSP olive oil
2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
6-7 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 TBSP ketchup
2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 TBSP chili powder
1 12oz light, decent quality beer (I used Dos Equis)
1 tsp+ liquid smoke
4 15oz cans of black beans (washed) or 6 cups black beans
Salt and pepper
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Green onions to top

To begin, sweat your onions in the oil until they are translucent, about 4 minutes.  Add your garlic and cook another minute or so until it is fragrant.  Add the broth, tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, beans, and beer.  Stir in the beer and bring it to a boil.  Allow the soup to boil for about 10 minutes so that the liquid reduces significantly.  Meanwhile, stem the cilantro and chop.  Add this to the soup after it has cooked 10 minutes and let it simmer for another 5 minutes.  At the very end, add the juice of one lime.  If ten minutes is not enough time to thicken the soup, allow the soup to keep cooking down.

At this point, I generally let the soup cool a bit and then blend about half of the soup in the blender so that the consistency of the soup transitions from something chili-like to more of a soup.  This thickens it and makes it more creamy.  Add the blended soup back to the rest of what is in your pot and serve! I like to add green onions to the top for soup perfection!

Enjoy!