Ginger's Home Cooking: Ginger's Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:
a 500g (just over 17.5 ounces) bag of dry black turtle beans
1 & 1/2 400g (just over 14 oz.) cans of chopped tomatoes
1 small (198g or 7 oz.) can of Green Giant sweetcorn with peppers (Mexicorn)
Just over 1 pint (22 oz.) of beef stock
1/2 a large onion (diced)
3 medium carrots (diced)
2 stalks of celery (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (diced)
2 tsp. dry Cumin
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Nando's Medium Peri Peri sauce (or Tabasco)
1 tsp. dry Oregano
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. Hickory Liquid Smoke (optional)
A hand blender
A 4.5 litre or more slow cooker (crockpot)

I had a whole unopened bag of dry black turtle beans that needed to be used up, so I just made up this black bean soup recipe on the fly. I adore black bean soup, but have never made my own. We just had it for dinner and were surprised at how amazingly well it turned out. It's a new family favourite! This recipe makes a huge amount (my 4.5 litre slow cooker was full to the brim), so it's great for a big gathering or for freezing some for a later date.
*Liquid smoke generally cannot be gotten in Ireland and I only occasionally get some brought over by friends from the States. If you don't have this ingredient, don't worry too much - it only adds a little extra smokiness, but the soup is still fab without it.

Method:
Firstly, you'll need to rinse your dry black beans, then soak overnight (or for at least 8 hours). Place them in a very large bowl and cover with water until there is at least 2 or 3 inches of water above the level of the beans, as they swell quite a bit. Put a lid or plate over them. The next morning, drain and rinse them again and then place in a large stock pot or divide between 2 slightly smaller pots. Put in fresh water, once again making sure there is at least 2 inches of water above the beans. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer and leave to simmer with a lid half on for 60 to 75 minutes until tender. Drain the beans most of the way, leaving only a few tablespoons of the liquid in them. Pour all but 1/4 of the beans into your slow cooker (the other 1/4 will be used later). Put the diced celery, onion, garlic and carrots into the slow cooker along with the Cumin, Oregano, Salt, Peri Peri or Tabasco, Worcestershire and Liquid Smoke. Then, make up 22 ounces of good quality beef stock (I use a Knorr concentrated gel stockpot) and add that in, along with 1 whole can of chopped tomatoes. Stir the mixture, place the lid on the slow cooker and place it on the low setting. Leave this to cook for 4 or 5 hours. After the few hours is up, blend the mixture in the slow cooker with a hand blender on a medium to high setting. If you don't have a hand blender, you could remove the mixture by the ladle-full and blend in a food processor. Once the mixture is blended to a fairly smooth consistency, add in the remaining 1/4 of the whole cooked beans, the small can of mexicorn and another half a can of chopped tomatoes. If you like it to have a stronger tomato taste and more chunks, you can add in the whole can. Stir again and allow this to cook on low for another half-hour to 1 hour and then serve with a garnish of grated cheese, sour cream and a few tortillas chips on top. You can also have chunky bread on the side. Now that I've made this and know how easy it is, it will definitely be a regular meal around here. Enjoy!