Black Bean Soup

1. In a pan heat water to a boil, drop a cup of black beans into it. Add salt, stir lightly and bring it to a rapid boil.

2. Turn off the stove, cover the pan and allow it to soak for 1 - 2 hours.

3. Using a pressure cooker, boil the soaked black beans till you hear about 5 whistles of pressure release. If boiling in an open pot, boil until the black beans are tender.

4. In another pot, heat up 2 tablespoons of oil, add the minced green onion (white part only), minced garlic, stir for a couple of minutes till it is brown around the edges.

5. Add 2 cups of homemade vegetable stock (Watch earlier recipe for the list of ingredients and directions on how to prepare homemade vegetable stock).

6. Add salsa, refried beans, stir well, cover with a lid and let it boil.

7. Add the cooked black beans (along with the water in which it was cooked), stir well, cover and let it cook for 5 more minutes.

8. After 5 minutes, stir and let it simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes. (If you want your soup thicker, allow it to simmer for some more time till you get the desired consistency)

9. Add salt (only if required as the vegetable stock and the salsa already contains salt) and pepper to taste.

10. Serve warm, garnished with a dollop of sour cream and freshly chopped tomatoes and green onions.

If you do not have salsa on hand to use for the cooking, you can chop some onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and any other vegetables of your choice, add it to the soup as an alternate suggestion to using salsa.

Addition of salt is optional as the chef uses homemade vegetable stock and homemade salsa; both contains the required amount of salt.