I’ve always had a soft spot for beans. They were a constant on our family table when I was growing up, but most often appeared in the form of creamy white beans or red beans and rice. Never black beans, though. In fact, I don’t remember even seeing black beans in the stores until the Tex-Mex craze reached Chattanooga in the 1970s, and they began to appear in restaurants as a side dish in a bowl or a sprinkling of beans on a burrito.
Then Cuban came along a couple of decades later — don’t know why it took so long to get here — and black bean soup appeared on many menus. Now, though, I don’t see it too often, so when I get in the mood, I bring out the slow cooker and make it myself using a recipe from one of my old community cookbooks, its cover torn and its pages riddled with food stains. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even have to look in the index for the recipe because when I open the cookbook, the page has warped and the book opens right to it. You good cooks probably know the kind of cookbook I’m talking about.
You can take a shortcut and use canned beans and the same ingredients, but it won’t turn out nearly as comforting and full of flavor. Take the time, soak your beans, and the soup will be full of flavor and comfort.
The smoky paprika brings out the natural sweetness of the bell peppers and gives the soup a deep, layered flavor that lingers with every spoonful. And the jalapeño — should you choose to use it — packs just the right amount of heat and pairs beautifully with the tomatoes to create a flavorful base for the chicken broth that is both bright and savory.
Black beans are perfect here because they have a satisfying texture and are able to absorb flavors from other ingredients while still standing out.