Smoky Black Bean Soup with Lime & Avocado

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large, diced yellow onion
• 1, diced bell pepper (red or green)
• 5 cloves, minced garlic
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 3 cans (15 oz each) canned black beans (drained and rinsed; look for no salt added)
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp, plus more to taste sea salt
• 2 lime (one juiced into the soup, one cut into wedges)
• 1/2 cup, chopped fresh cilantro
• 1, diced ripe avocado (for topping)

Instructions

1. Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, add the onion and pepper with a pinch of salt, and cook for 7 to 8 minutes until soft and just starting to brown.
2. Stir in the garlic, cumin, oregano and smoked paprika, and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Add the beans, broth, bay leaf and salt, and bring to a boil.
4. Lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 20 minutes, so the beans soften further and the broth thickens a little.
5. Fish out the bay leaf, then blend about half of the soup with an immersion blender in short pulses, leaving plenty of whole beans for texture.
6. Stir in the juice of 1 lime and most of the cilantro, then taste and adjust the salt and lime.
7. Ladle into bowls and top with the diced avocado, the remaining cilantro and a lime wedge.

Tips

• Rinsing canned beans washes off much of the salt and the starchy liquid. If you use regular canned beans, taste before adding any extra salt.
• To start from dried beans, soak about 2 cups overnight and simmer them until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, then use some of the cooking liquid in place of part of the broth.
• The soup thickens overnight; loosen it with water when reheating. It freezes well for up to 3 months.
• Leftovers are good spooned over brown rice or a baked sweet potato.

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