The group text flashed across my iphone, along with the phones of six other busy moms: a recipe, delivered in a sort of morse code of cooking instruction, with the enthusiasm of someone with a real gem to share. It read roughly like this:
“Great new hack from Britta! 2 cans black beans, one container pico de gallo = soup.” The text ended with, “My kids and I loved it.”
Enough said. I had to try it.
I went out and procured the goods and within five minutes of unpacking groceries I had a seriously delicious bowl of hot soup in my hands. It was tastier, in fact, than the bean soup I’d made two weeks prior from a James Beard-award winning cookbook. And that one called for 12 ingredients, took me 30 minutes to make, and 10 minutes to clean up.
I’ll take a three-ingredient soup (and friends who aren’t greedy with good recipes) any old day.
Three-Ingredient Black Bean Soup
This soup is shockingly tasty considering it calls for just three ingredients and takes all of five minutes to make. It's perfect as part of a simple dinner along with crusty bread or warm tortillas. Or make it for lunch, packed into thermoses for school or work.
Ingredients
- Three 15-ounce cans black beans (not drained)
- One 12-ounce container pico de gallo salsa (about 1 1/4 cup)
- 1/4 cup sour cream, plus any favorite garnishes, such as avocado, cilantro, salsa, grated cheese, or diced onion
Instructions
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Drain the liquid from ONE of the cans of beans and put into a medium saucepan. Add the remaining 2 cans of beans and their liquid to the pan. Add the pico de gallo salsa. Set over medium-high and cook until warm.
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Transfer half of the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return the pureed soup to the saucepan and stir well. If the soup is too thick for your taste, thin with a little water. Heat to desired temperature.
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Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream or any other favorite garnishes.
Thank you to Britta Narum, who was the inspiration behind this recipe and to Spring Utting for sharing it with the rest of us.