Brazilian Black Bean Soup With Sausage

I made a couple soups today, partly to experiment, partly to have some food in the fridge that I could heat up.  This soup is really nice as it has some nice spice, but mellows really well with a dollop of sour cream.  If you want to lose the sausage, you can, but I like the little extra flavor it provides.  You will note this isn't in the "new" recipe format, as I am revisiting that from a variety of data visualization angles...

Anyway, this will warm you up on a cold day.

Brazilian Black Bean Soup with Sausage

First, let's go shopping.  You might have most of this on-hand (at least if you cook a lot), or could substitute if need be.  Regardless, you are going to need the following (amounts estimated, adjust to taste):

About 1 lb of pork sausage (I get the non-cased stuff at my local italian market)
4 cups of chopped red onion (couple good sized onions)
4 cloves of minced garlic (or a couple tablespoons of pre-minced)
3 cups water
2 30 oz cans of black beans, drained
2 14.5 oz cans of chicken broth ( I actually prefer to make my own, tastes better.  Better yet, use pheasant broth... )
4 or so tablespoons Cholula hot sauce (or Franks, but Cholula is better)
4 Tablespoons of chopped cilantro
4 Teaspoons ground cumin
4 Tablespoons rum (I use Captain Morgans)
2 Tablespoons dry Sherry

Okay, in a big pot, I like to use an enameled, cast iron dutch oven, toss in the sausage over medium - high heat and cook it up so we don't get sick.  When it is done, pull it out of the pot and set it aside, but leave the grease in there.

Chop up your onion and toss it in that sausage grease over medium-high heat with the garlic and cook it up until they get tender, 4 or 5 minutes.  You might need to add some olive oil or the like, depending on how much sausage grease was still in there.  It's okay, you can add some fat, I won't tell.  About this time the people in the house will start smelling it and begin peeking into the kitchen, kick them out.

Okay, now it gets complicated...

Dump in all the other ingredients EXCEPT the sausage, rum and sherry.  Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat, partially cover and cook for about 20 minuted, stirring every few minutes.  Don't rush it, let the flavors blend.

Now, ladle about 1/2 the soup into a blender or a food processor and blend it until smooth.  Pour it back into the pot, stir in the sausage, rum and sherry.  Taste it, love it, adjust it as you see fit, make it your own...

I like to serve it with some shredded queso cheese and a spoonful of sour cream on top.  Some folks might like a lime wedge too.  This makes a good sized pot of soup, probably 8 - 10 servings, so feel free to cut the recipe in half.

All told, it should take you about 45 minutes to an hour to make this, with prep and cooking.