Black Bean Soup

Madeira wine gives this soup a rich, warm taste. If you don’t want to purchase an entire bottle of wine for this recipe, look for miniature airline bottles at the liquor store. Sherry can be substituted for the Madeira.

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound (2 cups) dry-packaged black beans, soaked
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• Rind and bone from a smoked ham
• 2 bay leaves
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup dry Madeira
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 16-ounce carton sour cream

Preparation

1. In a saucepan add the drain beans and 8 cups of cold water and simmer for 1 – 1/2 hours.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy kettle. Add celery and onions; sauté until tender but not browned.
3. Blend in flour and cook mixture, stirring, for one minute.
4. Add parsley, beans and cooking liquid, ham rind and bone, bay leaves, salt and pepper; cover and simmer for 3 hours.
5. Discard ham bone and rind, but keep any bits of meat.
6. Put soup through a sieve or food mill, or puree in a blender. Add wine and vinegar.
7. Reheat soup and stir in sour cream, but do not let soup come to a boil.
8. Optional: Soup may be garnished with sour cream, minced raw onion, chopped hard-cooked egg, or tangerine sections.