Black Bean And Madeira Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb dried black beans
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 leeks, white part only, washed well and finely diced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, to taste
1 cup madeira wine, plus
extra madeira wine, for finishing
2 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped, to taste (I usually use 3, but I like this on the spicy side !)
1 bay leaf
10 -12 cups water
sour cream (to garnish) (optional)

Preparation

Sort beans carefully, removing any stones.
Place beans in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover by three inches.
Soak overnight.
Heat olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat.
Add garlic, leeks, bell pepper, celery, carrots, and thyme.
Sprinkle with salt and mix well.
Saute until soft, but not browned, about 10 minutes.
Add 1 cup Madeira and cook until liquid reduces by half.
Stir in beans, bay leaf, chipotles and 10 cups water.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally and adding additional water if needed, until beans are very soft, about 2 - 2 1/2 hours.
Transfer to blender in batches and puree until smooth.
Reheat if necessary.
I usually puree only half, as I like a little more texture in the soup.
To serve, ladle into bowls and spoon a little sour cream into center if you like.
Drizzle a couple of teaspoons of Madeira around the sour cream and serve.