In My Perfect Pantry, Geoffrey Zakarian uses simple pantry elements to forge wonderful, full flavored dishes. He has a list of 50 pantry ingredients that he employs in appetizers, side dishes, main courses and desserts. Here the simple ingredient is black beans.
Beans can have a bit of punch on their own, not heat but just deep flavor. Zakarian doubles down, though, and adds a canned chipotle pepper plus some of the adobo sauce. Goodness, when I first read this recipe I thought he said to add the whole can, not just one pepper. I was about to write this post with a big WARNING notice, but now I don’t have to. Of course, I understand how it goes with chipotles. You’re going to add more, aren’t you?
Zakarian comments that black beans “can hold and carry added flavors.” So here a classic matchup occurs: black beans with that chipotle and corn. Corn is now arriving in our markets. It’s early corn so it may not be as sweet as the frozen variety, which is perfectly dandy for this recipe.
The relative sweet and smoky notes here can be intensified if this bisque is pureed. Traditionally, a bisque is a creamy seafood-based dish but here the “bisque” label does denote smoothness, assuming you do puree to achieve a velvety texture. If you do puree in your blender, then pour through a sieve and try to eliminate any lingering chunks. You can save those little piece, put them back in the blender with a little water or reserved stock. Blend again, sieve again, and try to capture as much of the raw ingredients as possible.
This is a lively dish for your weekend. It makes for a full lunch or can be a very spicy introduction to your main course at dinner.
To see my earlier review of My Perfect Pantry, just click here!
Smoky Black Bean Bisque
Yield: serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup chopped carrot
- ½ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (if fresh, from about I ear of corn)
- ½ cup chopped onion
- Kosher salt
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 1 quart hot vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
- Sour cream, for garnish
Preparation:
In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the carrot, corn, and onion and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Season with salt.
Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin and cook until the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the beans and chipotle and sauce and stir just to combine.
Pour in the stock and 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick and creamy, 35 to 40 minutes.
Stir in the lime juice and season with salt, if necessary. Puree the hot soup with a hand blender, if desired, or leave chunky. Serve in soup bowls with the cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.
Source: My Perfect Pantry by Geoffrey Zakarian [Clarkson Potter, 2014]
Photography Credit: Sara Remington