Black Bean Soup inspired by The Twelve

We have been reading so much lately. Back to back apocalyptic books and now I am on to my favorite British detective, Alan Banks.

Today I posted my review of Justin Cronin's The Twelve and, as I try and find a representative food from books I read, this soup was a clear choice. Homemade soup and bread were mentioned when Peter visited Amy.



This seems like a cheat talking about a "recipe" for this soup as it's pretty much a toss together from bits in the fridge and pantry. We always have cans of black beans on hand so this is a good base to start the soup.



A Simple Black Bean and Veggie Soup

3 TB olive oil
1 TB butter
1 can of black beans
chopped onions
about a cup of fresh or frozen corn
4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
a couple of green onions, chopped
2 fresh tomatoes chopped (or a 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes with juice)
green bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup broth
Seasonings you like - I use salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and paprika.

Melt the butter and add the olive oil to a pan. Saute all the vegetables until soft. Tip in the canned black beans, stir, then tip in the tomatoes. Now toss in the herbs. Heat to almost boiling and simmer for a bit, letting the flavors mingle.

If you have leftover rice add it now. This will bulk it up. This is a vegetarian version if you use vegetable broth. You may also use chicken broth and add any meat leftover from other meals, if you desire. Sometimes I have just a wee bit of chicken leftover and it goes in the pot. Other times I add sausage. Just depends what you have on hand and what sort of additions you want. This soup is ever changing in ur house.

I will be joining Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sunday series. The linkup for this week is HERE. Please join in if you have made a soup, salad or sandwich.