Black Bean and Rice Soup with Lime and Cilantro

For some reason black beans have been on my mind lately, and this recipe is one of those intuitive ones that swirl around in my brain for a few days and then suddenly I find myself in the kitchen making it without any real consciousness of how I got there. This has been happening to me for years, but luckily since I've been blogging I've learned to write the recipes down.

Despite the photos, which I thought could have been better, this soup really did taste amazing. It was flavorful and delicious, with earthy beans, sour lime juice and spicy cilantro all combined in a healthy soup without a drop of fat, salt, or gluten, and although I used chicken stock, it could have easily been vegetarian. For the South Beach Diet, it would be perfect for phase two or three. This may be one of the healthiest recipes I've ever channeled.

There isn't a lot of rice in the soup, but the rice is important. If you're following the South Beach Diet, I strongly recommend using Uncle Ben's Converted Rice, although brown rice would be acceptable. Uncle Ben's is the lowest glycemic index type of white rice, plus it's the type of rice Julia Child used. Bet you didn't know that! In the U.S. it's readily available, but if you can't find it follow the link above and get it on amazon.com.

However, even though the rice is essential, this soup is really about the black beans. They're one of the World's Healthiest Foods, high in dietary fiber, protein, and antioxidants. Black beans have very large amounts of the trace mineral molybdenum, which can be beneficial to people who are sensitive to sulfites. Beans are low in calories, and all types of beans are considered a *good carb* on the South Beach diet. There are many types of black beans, but the most common type used in cooking are black turtle beans, used in the cooking of South America, especially Brazil, Latin America, especially Cuba, Mexico, and the southern United States. The black beans used in Asia are most often black soy beans.

I used canned black beans, which I think are just perfect for a long-cooking recipe like this where you don't particularly need the beans to keep their shape. I also cooked my soup in a Crockpot, but you can easily adapt the recipe to one cooked on top of the stove, so I'll give that option in the instructions. The newer varieties of Crockpots cook much more quickly than the older type (which were called slow cookers), and I made this in a newer model, so you will need to adjust the cooking time if you have a true slow cooker variety. I used a small size Crockpot which holds not quite three quarts.

Black Bean and Rice Soup with Lime and Cilantro
(makes 6 servings, can be doubled for larger Crock pot or stovetop cooking, recipe created by Kalyn)

2 cans black beans with liquid
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned chicken broth
(use 2 cups for stovetop cooking)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. minced garlic (or more)
1 T ground cumin
1 T dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
1 tsp. ground Ancho chile powder (I used Penzeys)
(could substitite regular chile powder)
1/4 tsp. ground Chipotle chile powder (I used Penzeys)
(could substitute finely chopped Chipotle chile in adobo from a can)
1/4 cup white long-grain rice (not more!)
(use Uncle Ben's Converted Rice for South Beach)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (2 limes)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or more)

In small Crockpot or 3 quart sauce pan, combine beans, tomatoes, chicken stock, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, Ancho chile powder and Chipotle chile powder. Cook on low for 6-8 hours in Crockpot or 1-2 hours on stove, until tomatoes are disintegrating and beans are starting to fall apart. On stovetop, you might need to add a little water during the cooking time. When soup has reached the consistency you want, raise heat slightly or turn Crockpot to high. Add 1/4 rice and cook until rice is done, about 30 minutes for either Crockpot or stove. Lower heat again, add fresh lime juice and cilantro and cook 5 minutes. Serve hot, with additional fresh lime pieces for each person to squeeze into soup.

This is my post for Weekend Herb Blogging, the amazingly long-lasting event where people write about recipes featuring their favorite herbs, plants, veggies, and flowers. Of course I love tomatoes, lime, and cilantro is my very favorite herb, but this time it's all about the black beans.

Here are some other black bean recipes to try:

Black Bean and Pepper Salad with Cilantro and Lime
Chicken, Black Bean, and Cilantro Soup
Nick's Chipotle Grilled Shrimp with Black Bean Salsa
Black Bean, Rice, and Cilantro Salad
Mexican Black Bean Soup with Sausage from What Did You Eat?
Grilled Lime Chicken with Black Bean Sauce from Simply Recipes
South End Deep Root Chili from The Perfect Pantry
Best Black Beans from Christine Cooks
Black Beans and Rice from The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz

Reminders:
If you're interested in participating in Weekend Herb Blogging, please check the rules for Weekend Herb Blogging. This week the host is Pookah at What's Cooking in Carolina. Send the e-mail to swankcat AT swankcatering DOT com.

Starting December 11 there's going to be a special Holiday Cooking with Herbs event. You can post any recipe that features herbs, plants, veggies, or flowers, and we're hoping people will share holiday recipes that they might only cook at this time of the year. On December 24 I'll post the recap of recipes for others to try during the following week.

We hope you'll join the fundraising efforts for The Menu For Hope, either by donating a prize or purchasing virtual raffle tickets to win prizes donated by other bloggers. Follow the link to get more information about this campaign, which also starts December 11.

To Print Recipes:
You can print any recipe without the header, sidebars, or photos by clicking on the main title of the post, then printing.

Tags:
Food Recipes Cooking South Beach Diet Recipes
Low Carb Recipes Low Glycemic Index Recipes
Weekend Herb Blogging The Menu for Hope