Easy Black Bean Soup with Cilantro Sour Cream

This recipe is easy and makes enough to take to work for a few days or for a second night of leftovers. I pair this soup with a salad and bread for a full meal, or you can have this as an appetizer before a larger course. This recipe is vegetarian but the addition of sausage or chicken make this a heartier meal. I adapted this recipe from Real Simples recipe collection and added chili peppers, and spiced rum bay leaves (South Florida specialty). This recipe would also be great with the addition of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive oil
2 cups fresh salsa (usually in the produce or deli section of your grocery store)
2 15 oz. black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 16 oz. can refried black beans (sometimes you have to poke around in your grocery store a bit to find these- usually in the Ethnic food section)
* 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
* 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)
* 1 chopped small jalapeno

Heathe the oil in a saucepan or large pot over medium heat. Add the salsa and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes. Add the refried beans, black beans, and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes.

After you ladle the soup into bowls, top it with any remaining salsa, sour cream and cilantro, and diced chilis.

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Conch Salad, Bahamian Ceviche

I was recently in Bimini, the Northernmost Island of the Bahamas, where it is a rite of passage, so to speak, to try the Conch Salad while there. You can find conch shells literally in every nook and cranny of this island that is only 50 miles from Fort Lauderdale, as conch salad is served at every watering hole on the island. The shells are a result of the island's main attraction, second only to the sport fishing and Kalik Beer.

In essence, Conch Salad is merely ceviche made with conch instead of shrimp or white fish. Ceviche is a Latin American favorite that consists of a white fish or shrimp salad that has been cooked by the acid of the lime and lemon juice it is marinted in. Conch salad consists of chopped up conch, plenty of lime juice, chopped onions, green and red peppers and garlic salt. Pretty simple really.

The Latins all have their own version of ceviche and there are two basic bases: white base (citrus) or red base (ketchup). The Ecuadorians tend to do the Ketchup version, and I have learned that more often than not they do parboil the fish or shrimp first, then use a ketchup and citrus base. In the Peruvian Style it is typical to find cooked sweet or white potatoes, corn or maize as an addition.

The Basic Ceviche Recipe consists of these staple ingredients:

Lime/Lemon/juice
chopped onion
chopped chili peppers
white fish
white vinegar (2-2 tblespoons)

** marinate the fish in the citrus mixture for at least 3 hours to let the fish cook in the juices. My Costa Rican friends add garlic, tomato and cilantro to their mixture. My friend Silvia adds chopped avocado as a garnish to her traditional Peruvian (BASIC) ceviche.

Ceviche is a healthy and lite dish for hot summers. Put your own spin on this recipe and please share your specialty recipes with me!!

** My friend Erin lived in Nicaragua for a while and reminded me that the white vinegar is good to add as it balances the citrus taste and also helps kill any bacteria that might get you sick.