Authentic Crock Pot Black Bean Soup

If you've ever dreamed of visiting a country in Central America, well keep dreaming because you won't need to leave the comfort of your kitchen to bring this authentic crock pot black bean soup to your dinner table! This easy to prepare recipe will deliver all the bold flavors that Central American cuisine stands for.

Coming from a younger generation, I can't say that I have been cooking this recipe for years, but I've made countless crock pots full of this soup to find a perfect balance that my taste buds can't resist! I approached this soup looking to get the finest flavors from the most natural and freshest produce. Personally, I can't stress enough on how important it is to use all fresh ingredients from produce to broth!

Prep Work:

• Finely chop onion, carrot green pepper and tomatoes.
• Sort and rinse black beans.
• Make sure spices are ground. Mortar and pestel works wonders!

1.  In a large saucepan, heat bacon lard on medium heat. Once heated, add finely chopped onion, carrot and green pepper to the lard. Cook 5-10 minutes untill the onions have just started to sweat.
2. Add garlic allowing another minute of cooking. After the minute, add chopped tomatoes and ground spices, including the fresh cilantro. Cook for another couple minutes.
3. Once the spices are well mixed into the vegetables and tomatoes, add all six cups of chicken broth and the black beans. Increase heat until the mixture reaches a rolling boil. Once rolling boil is achieved, remove pan from heat.
4. Spoon the soup mixture into your slow cooker and set on high heat for the first hour. After the first hour, reduce the slower cooker temperature to low and let simmer for at least 7 hours. (I start the night before and let the soup simmer for ~16 hours.)

 This soup is great straight out of the slow cooker, but I personally like to give the beans a good mash while they are still in the cooker. This gives the soup a nice creamy texture, but still has definition of ingredients. To stay in the tradition of Central American cuisine, try serving the soup over rice with a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of fresh cilantro! Happy Eating!