Caribbean Eggplant and Black Bean Soup

Submitted by Julie Bs Hive

"From my Jenn-Aire cookbook and posted for ZWT3."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil or 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3⁄4 cup green pepper, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3⁄4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3⁄4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes in puree
• 2 2 tablespoons orange juice or 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1⁄2 teaspoon grated lime rind
• 2 1⁄4 cups eggplants, peeled and cut into 1/2-in cubes
• 1 cup cooked black beans
• 6 drops hot red pepper sauce (to taste)

directions

1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil over low heat. Add green pepper, celery, garlic, and carrots; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the cumin, allspice, oregano, and salt and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes (break them up) and sherry, honey, and the lime rind. Bring to a boil, cover, cook for 15 minutes. Add eggplant and cook, covered, for 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in the beans and red pepper sauce and cook just until heated through.

Reviews

[Tricia Mendes]

Absolutely gorgeous dish! I cooked this in the slow cooker/crockpot on high for 8 hours - the beans take a lot of time when you put them in raw!! I added a litre of stock to compensate for the uncooked beans, and all the liquid was absorbed by the time it was all cooked. Will definitely come into my list of favourites!!

 

[kitty.rock]

We really enjoyed this dish and would have to agree that it is more a stew than a soup ~ this was flavorful with a different twist. My family loves black beans, peppers, and celery in any stew ~ I added a small sweet onion right out of the garden and some baby white eggplant. I used the orange juice option, and with the lime and cumin, allspice and oregano and honey, it made for a slightly sweeter flavor. I also subbed Rotel tomatoes with lime for the tomato puree. Hot pepper sauce added a bit of a kick that was not too hot, but had just a bit of bite:) I served this over brown rice and it was a very filling and enjoyable Caribbean meal. Thanks Julie B's Hive, made for ZWT5, Bodacious Brickhouse Babes.

 

[Marsha Mazz]

This dish was wonderfully fragrant and delicious. However, I wouldn't call it a soup - it was more of a stew. I prepared it according to the recipe except that I used crushed tomatoes instead of tomato puree. Even my eggplant hating son enjoyed it over a dab of white rice. I will definitely make this again and again. It is a hearty low fat alternative to meat.