Black Bean, Sausage, And Sweet Potato Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

5 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups dry black beans
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon water
1/4 pound Italian sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pound sweet potatoes
3 green onions
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

In a 4 quart saucepan, combine beans, garlic, bay leaf, allspice, broth and 5 1/2 cups water. Cook, partially covered, until beans are tender, about 50 minutes. Discard bay leaf.
In a blender puree 1 cup cooked beans with 1 cup cooking liquid, and return to pan.
In a small bowl, stir together tomato paste and 1 tablespoon water; stir into beans with sausage and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer soup, covered, for 15 minutes. Soup may be prepared up to this point 3 days ahead.
While soup is simmering, peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Steam until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir potatoes, 3 chopped scallions, and salt and pepper to taste into soup. Serve soup garnished with scallion greens.