Black Bean (Turkey Chili) Soup

My lovely friend Mary made a request for something made in a crock-pot and suggested a black bean soup. Well, Mary, here you go. Crock-pots are wonderfully useful; you can make slow-cooked, simmered dishes without the hassle of constantly monitoring the stove or oven. This is nice on a cold rainy day or for a belated Day of the Dead celebration.

Ingredients:

2 onions (I used Peru Onions)

*1 jalapeño

Tomatoes

2 cans of black beans (You could buy them raw and soak them, but save yourself the time.)

1 pound or so of ground lean turkey

A few cloves of garlic

Vegetable oil (I used grape seed but canola is good)

Fresh ground pepper

*Pimentón (La Vera)

**Achiote (aka Annato)

Cumin

Fresh Cilantro

Fresh green onion greens

Sea Salt

Garnish:

Queso Fresco, Salsa Valentina, Lime

* If you don’t have jalapeños or Pimentón you can replace both ingredients with Chipotle powder

** You can get Achiote in the Hispanic food section of many grocery stores or any Latino market.

Directions:

Prepare the jalapeño by making one incision length wise and removing the seeds (unless you want fiery soup…). Remove outer skin from the onions and cut into quarters. Cut two small tomatoes in quarters. Blend these ingredients into a puree with a food processor or a blender. Add to the Crock-pot with the black beans. Add the cumin to taste; about 2 teaspoons. Turn Crock-pot on to low heat.

In a medium frying pan, simmer some oil. Crush the garlic cloves with a garlic press into the oil. Grind some pepper. Let the garlic infuse into the oil a bit. Add the ground turkey, keep the heat at medium and stir the turkey into the garlic-pepper oil. Sprinkle a generous dusting of Pimentón into the turkey mixture. Let the turkey simmer on low to medium heat as some excess liquid evaporates and the turkey absorbs the spices. Add to crock-pot. Do not discard pan.

Slice up 3-4 more tomatoes perhaps amounting to 1-2 cups. Put the pan back on low-medium heat and add the tomatoes. You may add a bit more oil if there is not much left from the turkey mixture. Dust in some Achiote. This gives a warm, sweet, peppery flavor and will enhance the other spices. It is a key ingredient in Latin American cuisine. While the tomatoes are simmering, dice up very finely some fresh cilantro and the greens from a green onion. [This is an accent, and should not overpower the other flavors (garlic, jalapeño, Pimentón- smokey); it also makes for a nice color combination- red tomatoes, black beans and a hint of green…yes aesthetics in the culinary experience is key.] Add cilantro and green onions to the tomatoes, stir for a minute, then put this all into the crock-pot.

Add sea salt to taste. Let the soup cook on low heat for the afternoon.

Serve with Queso Fresco, salsa valentina and lime slices.