B
basilisk
Guest
Hi all,
I know we all get into cooking ruts sometimes. I had an idea, not a very original one, I admit, but I made this right out of my head with no recipe and I was shocked how good it was! Usually when I “experiment” and just throw things together, I end up making notes to change the seasoning, leave something out, or add something, for next time. (Or sometimes, to never EVER make it again! http://bestsmileys.com/sick/9.gif) But with this one, I couldn’t find one thing wrong with it. And everyone in the family ate it without complaining… that makes the effort worth it all by itself. And this really isn’t complicated.
So anyway, I happened to see that Johnsonville (the maker of the best sausages on the planet!) is now offering chorizo (a Mexican sausage). I had some dry black beans in my pantry, so I immediately thought, black bean soup. So here is the recipe as I made it:
1 1 lb. bag dry black beans, soaked* and drained
1 package Johnsonville chorizo (19.76 oz)
1 can Ro-tel (10 oz)
1 quart box chicken broth (I used Progresso)
1 quart water
2 medium yellow onions, diced
4 large cloves garlic, chopped (or 5 or 6 small ones)
cilantro
In a heavy-bottom dutch oven or stockpot, combine beans, chicken broth, water, and Ro-tel. Bring to a boil and simmer 90 minutes, until beans are almost done. In a skillet, brown sausage links until almost done, then cut into bite-size slices (you can do this right in the pan) and finish cooking until no longer pink in the middle. Remove sausage pieces with slotted spoon and add into soup. In the sausage drippings, saute the onion and garlic until softened and the onion turns translucent, but not brown. Add onions and garlic into soup. Simmer for about ten more minutes or until beans are soft. Chop a large handful of cilantro leaves and stir in just before serving.
This is a little spicy, but not overwhelming. To reduce the spiciness, you could use the mild Ro-tel. And I know some people really hate cilantro. You could just leave that out. Some of the dimension would go out of the flavor, but it would still be good. I meant to serve warm corn tortillas with this, but forgot to get any. Next time!
*For those inexperienced with using dry beans in your cooking, you have to soak beans overnight before cooking them. Or, there are usually instructions on the package for a “quick soak” that only takes about an hour and half. For those who don’t want to bother, I have found that 4 cans of beans are roughly equal to 1 pound of dry beans. Canned beans have added salt, so keep that in mind. I did not have to add any salt thanks to the broth, sausage, and Ro-tel. So if you use canned beans, DEFINITELY don’t add any! You can minimize the impact of the salt added to canned beans by rinsing them before cooking with them.
I know we all get into cooking ruts sometimes. I had an idea, not a very original one, I admit, but I made this right out of my head with no recipe and I was shocked how good it was! Usually when I “experiment” and just throw things together, I end up making notes to change the seasoning, leave something out, or add something, for next time. (Or sometimes, to never EVER make it again! http://bestsmileys.com/sick/9.gif) But with this one, I couldn’t find one thing wrong with it. And everyone in the family ate it without complaining… that makes the effort worth it all by itself. And this really isn’t complicated.
So anyway, I happened to see that Johnsonville (the maker of the best sausages on the planet!) is now offering chorizo (a Mexican sausage). I had some dry black beans in my pantry, so I immediately thought, black bean soup. So here is the recipe as I made it:
1 1 lb. bag dry black beans, soaked* and drained
1 package Johnsonville chorizo (19.76 oz)
1 can Ro-tel (10 oz)
1 quart box chicken broth (I used Progresso)
1 quart water
2 medium yellow onions, diced
4 large cloves garlic, chopped (or 5 or 6 small ones)
cilantro
In a heavy-bottom dutch oven or stockpot, combine beans, chicken broth, water, and Ro-tel. Bring to a boil and simmer 90 minutes, until beans are almost done. In a skillet, brown sausage links until almost done, then cut into bite-size slices (you can do this right in the pan) and finish cooking until no longer pink in the middle. Remove sausage pieces with slotted spoon and add into soup. In the sausage drippings, saute the onion and garlic until softened and the onion turns translucent, but not brown. Add onions and garlic into soup. Simmer for about ten more minutes or until beans are soft. Chop a large handful of cilantro leaves and stir in just before serving.
This is a little spicy, but not overwhelming. To reduce the spiciness, you could use the mild Ro-tel. And I know some people really hate cilantro. You could just leave that out. Some of the dimension would go out of the flavor, but it would still be good. I meant to serve warm corn tortillas with this, but forgot to get any. Next time!
*For those inexperienced with using dry beans in your cooking, you have to soak beans overnight before cooking them. Or, there are usually instructions on the package for a “quick soak” that only takes about an hour and half. For those who don’t want to bother, I have found that 4 cans of beans are roughly equal to 1 pound of dry beans. Canned beans have added salt, so keep that in mind. I did not have to add any salt thanks to the broth, sausage, and Ro-tel. So if you use canned beans, DEFINITELY don’t add any! You can minimize the impact of the salt added to canned beans by rinsing them before cooking with them.
