Chili black bean soup

This soup is dramatic and delicious. The chilli and garlic give it a really strong flavor that’s also full of goodness. If you find dried beans too time consuming to cook, feel free to use canned beans.

Boil the beans for 10 minutes then drain. Rinse the saucepan to get rid of any remaining residue and return beans to pan.

Add the stock and bay leaves. Cover and simmer on low until tender. Warning, this will take approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. Add additional stock if necessary during this process.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion and chillies. Cook on low for approximately 4 minutes and add the garlic. Cook for a further one minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes to this mixture and stir together. Set aside.

Once the beans are fully cooked, add the tomatoe mixture to the beans and stock. Simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat.

Let cool and strain beans. Discard bay leave and return stock to pan.

Place the beans and vegetables in a food process with a little reserved stock and blend on high for approximately 1 minute until smooth.

Place this mixture back in the pan with the reserved stock and mix together. Gently heat through and serve immediately.

Garnish with a few finely chopped spring onions and a dollop of crème fraiche.