Roasted Poblano and Black Bean Soup

This is something I whipped up one night with cans I had in the pantry. Try different pepper/bean combinations. For instance, red pepper and great northern beans; poblanos and black eyed peas. It seems like a lot of steps, but time went quickly as I used prepared ingredients.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 3  poblano peppers
• 1  stalk celery
• 1  medium onion, divided
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  granulated garlic
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin
• 1  teaspoon oregano
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1⁄4 cup  bean stock
• 1 (15 ounce) can vegetable broth
• 2 (15 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes

Directions

1. Heat oven to broil.
2. Wash peppers and cut in half. Remove seeds and stems.
3. Cut onion in half. Peel 1/2 onion in layers and place on sheet of aluminum foil with halves of peppers (skin side up).
4. Spray with olive oil and broil until skins turn black and start to bubble. Remove peppers and onions with tongs and place in plastic bag.
5. Let these steam in bag while you dice reserved onion and celery, then peel peppers. (I rub them between my hands while wearing rubber gloves).
6. Heat olive oil on medium and add celery and diced onion. Saute until onions are translucent, approx 3-4 minutes.
7. In the meantime, dice broiled onions and peppers - add to onion and celery mix.
8. Drain can of beans into bowl and save 1/4 cup liquid from can. Rinse beans and add to vegetables in pot.
9. Toss beans and veggies with oregano, garlic and cumin, heat for one minute.
10. Add cans of tomatoes with juice. Simmer for 15 minutes.
11. Remove 2 cups of vegetables from soup. Pour remainder of soup into food processor to cool slightly.
12. Pour can of vegetable broth and saved bean liquid into soup pot. Heat on medium as you puree vegetables in food processor.
13. Turn puree through food mill into broth and combine with reserved vegetables (food mill is not absolutely necessary, but gave it a really silky texture).
14. Heat through, approx 5 minutes and serve warm. This is delicious on a bed of rice or whole grains.