Mexican White Bean Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 &frac 14 cups dried navy beans (8 ounces)
6 cups water
1 cup onion, chopped (1 medium)
1 cup celery (2 stalks)
1 cup carrot, sliced (2 medium)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
&frac 14 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can vegetable broth or (14 1/2 ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
1 orange
1 cup salsa verde
light sour cream, to taste (optional)
fresh cilantro, to taste

Preparation

Rinse beans. In a 4- to 5-quart Dutch oven combine beans and the 6 cups water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans.
In the Dutch oven cook onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in hot oil until tender. Add beans. Stir in cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add broth and the 2 cups water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until beans are tender.
Using a handheld immersion blender, blend mixture slightly. Return to Dutch oven. Finely shred 1 teaspoon peel from orange; then juice orange. Stir orange juice, peel, and salsa verde into soup; heat through. If desired, top with sour cream. Sprinkle with cilantro and cayenne pepper.