Boston black bean soup
6 Servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | cups | Dried black beans |
| 2 | quarts | Water |
| 1 | tablespoon | Salt |
| 1 | tablespoon | Butter |
| 2 | tablespoons | Flour |
| ½ | tablespoon | Minced yellow onion |
| ⅛ | teaspoon | Black pepper |
| ⅛ | teaspoon | Dry mustard |
| 1 | cup | Whipping cream |
| 6 | slices | Lemon; thin |
| 6 | Whole cloves | |
| 1 | Egg; hard-boiled & sliced, for garnish | |
| ½ | cup | Dry sherry (optional) |
Directions
This soup has been popular in Boston for many generations. The colonists grew many kinds of beans for drying. This is the only way you could get through the New England winter. I think this soup could help you get through any difficulty.
Soak the beans overnight in ample water. Drain. Place in a 4-quart soup pot and add the 2 quarts water and salt. Cook until soft, about 2 hours, covered. Pur‚e mixture in a food processor, using the beans and a little of the water. Return the bean pur‚e and all of the water to the pot and simmer 15 minutes.
In a small saucepan melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook for a moment and add the onion, pepper, and mustard. Stir in the cream and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened. Add this to the bean pur‚e. Heat all just to the boiling point, being careful not to scorch the soup.
Serve in shallow bowls with a slice of lemon, a clove, and a slice of hard-boiled egg in each bowl. I also like to add a bit of dry sherry to the pot before dishing up the soup. TIME INCLUDES SOAKING OVERNIGHT From <The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American>. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe Archive, .