BLACK BEAN CHOWDER

As a food blogger, I spend a lot of time creating and testing recipes, I really wish I could say they all tasted amazing on the first try, but I would be lying, Sometimes I have to re-work a dish to get it the way that I really envisioned.

This chowder was a perfect example of a dish that was almost there, but not quite right, When I made it for the first time, I added too much broth and the chowder looked like, well, a watery, creamy soup. The taste was great so I knew I wasn't far off, but I definitely needed to use less broth to give it the chunky, bold texture that's expected from a chowder.
I tried it again this morning, and I can now share it proudly with you all as it turned out exactly like what I had in mind.  Very flavorful, with a texture that is exactly what you would expect from a chowder.  Creamy, with a nice consistency. It also has a little kick to it, but it is not overwhelming,
The house was smelling so good when I made it. There's something about warming up onions, garlic, and peppers, that gives a fantastic aroma to your kitchen. I definitely was looking forward to the "tasting" part of cooking on this one, and it was amazing! So here it is, the now perfect black bean chowder. :)

BLACK BEAN CHOWDER

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 onions, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped

1 pasilla pepper, seeded and chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped small

1 cup of frozen corn, thawed (preferably organic to avoid GMO's)

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

4 cups of cooked black beans (about 1 3/4 cups of dried ones), *click How to cook beans for the method on how to cook them.

2 cups of veggie broth

2 teaspoons of dried cumin powder

1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro, chopped
Sea salt and pepper

Preparation:

In a large pot, heat up the olive oil under medium-high heat.
Add the onions and garlic, and cook 3-4 minutes until softened.
Add the red pepper, the pasilla pepper, and the jalapeno, and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the corn, the tomatoes, the cooked black beans, the veggie broth, the cumin, the oregano, and the cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Put 3 cups of the soup in a blender (broth and veggies), and give it a few pulses, until you get a chunky pureed mixture.
Add the puree back into the soup pot, along with the lime juice and the cilantro.
Season with sea salt and pepper, serve warm.

This will make 6 servings