I love the black bean soup at Panera, but I can’t always get to one. I decided to look online for a knock-off recipe and found a decent one on RecipeZaar. It’s not quite the same as the soup at Panera; Panera’s version is vegetarian and the one on RecipeZaar uses chicken bullion. I went one better and used beef stock. I also sautéed the veggies before adding the rest of the ingredients and spiced it all up with some cayenne pepper. Yum! It must have been good because, by the time I ladled out a bowl for myself and came downstairs with it, my husband was ready for a second bowl.

This soup is hearty enough to serve as a main dish, or use smaller servings for a starter dish.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/4 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 – 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cup low sodium beef broth or stock
2 (15 ounce) cans low sodium black beans, with liquid
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons water
juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions:
Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Sautée onions and celery about 2 to 3 minutes. Add bell pepper and garlic and sautée 1 minute more.

Add beef broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 3 minutes.

Return heat to medium-high. Add half a can of beans, salt, cumin and cayenne pepper. Cook for 5 minutes.

Purée soup in blender, or use an immersion blender to purée right in the pot.

Add the rest of the beans to the soup and return to heat.

Combine the cornstarch with 1 1/2 tablespoons of water. Add the lemon juice and the cornstarch to the soup. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes longer.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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