Smokey Vegetarian Cuban Black Bean Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 pound dried black beans
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano, crushed between your fingers
2 bay leaves
6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup diced smoked tempeh bacon (such as Lightlife(R) Organic Smoky Tempeh Strips(R))
2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup sliced hard-boiled eggs (optional)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

Preparation

Place black beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Drain beans and rinse with fresh water.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat; cook and stir yellow onion, paprika, and cumin seeds until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add red bell pepper, green bell pepper, garlic, oregano, and bay leaves; cook and stir until onion is translucent and bell peppers are tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
Mix vegetable stock, black beans, tempeh, rum, and jalapeno pepper into onion mixture. Increase heat to medium-high, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until beans are tender, about 45 minutes.
Pour water into bean mixture; season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beans begin to fall apart and soup thickens, 30 to 40 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Remove and discard bay leaves from soup.
Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with hard-boiled eggs and red onion.