Black Bean Soup With Pico De Gallo and Chipotle Creme
By: Active Foodie
Published: Monday, March 8, 2010 - 5:40am

Ingredients




Pico de gallo

1/2 of a minced white onion
4 large tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1/2 jalapeno, diced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Salt

Black Bean Soup

1 pound dried black beans, rinsed
4 cups of water
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 ounces salted pork  (Note: I found this at Whole Foods right next to the smoked ham hoc
1 pound smoked ham hocks
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup – 1  chicken stock (optional)
Chipotle Crème

1/4 cup low far sour cream
1/4 greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon chipotles (Tip: I buy a can of chipotles from the grocery store, and keep it fro

Preparation

1 Preparation 2 In a tall soup pot, combine the beans, water, onion, carrots, salt pork and ham hocks.  Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. 3 Stir in garlic, white pepper, cumin, oregano and salt and continue to simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally until the beans are very tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 4 Remove the ham hocks , remove the meat from the bone, shred the meat and place back in the pot. 5 If the soup is too thick, stir in some chicken stock to bring it to your desired consistency. 6 Serve in bowl, topped with pico de gallo and a dollop of chipotle crème. 7 NOTE:  the original recipe calls to puree the soup, but I prefer it more like a stew, and having the beans whole.