Cream of Black Bean Soup

Heat oil in 5 qt Dutch oven or heavy sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon, onions, and celery and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, 30-40 minutes until vegetables are very soft and lightly browned. Add garlic. Pick over beans, remove bad ones, rinse and drain. Add beans to pan with cayenne, cumin, and broth; bring everything to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook until beans mash easily, about 3 hours. Skim fat from the soup and discard. Allow soup to cool slightly and then puree small portions at a time in food processor or blender. Soup must be cool enough not to crack the machines! Also, small batches or it will blow the lid clean off (my comment). Return soup to pan and cook over medium-high until very hot. Remove from heat, stir in vinegar and sherry. Serve with condiments. (serves 10-12) This soup is also amended well by using chipotle, moritas or other smoked peppers. And this is also a dish where vinegar based chili concoctions works well. There are many places to very the recipe and I have had a real rich soup with the addition of half and half cream, about a quart, at the final addition of vinegar and sherry. The soup is great as it appears above in the recipe without any changes, and gets even better the next day, and the next, in the fridge. Adios. Serving Size: 12  douglas allen thompson <aesculus@TSO.UC.EDU> CHILE-HEADS ARCHIVES From the Chile-Heads recipe list. Downloaded from Glens MM Recipe Archive, http://www.erols.com/hosey.