Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

I stumbled upon a version of this recipe a couple years ago and it has become regular fare in our house. I usually make these once a week. They are easy, healthy, cheap, hearty, and really quite good. There is tons of room for variation here. Other than the ratio of liquid to beans, you can change this recipe based on what you like or what you have on hand. For example, I leave the bell peppers out in the winter when bell peppers are shipped from far away and are expensive. It takes about 15 or 20 minutes to put the dish together in the morning, and it should cook for at least 7 hours, but will be fine in the crock pot all day. Dustin and I can eat almost the whole pot when this is all we have for a hearty dinner, but it makes four big bowls, so I suppose that's four servings. If serving four, cornbread on the side would be a nice way to make this a more complete meal. The leftovers are great. This recipe fills my full-size crock pot, so if you have one of those small ones, you'll need to halve it.

Soup Ingredients:
1 Tbs olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
1 med red bell pepper, chopped (optional)
1 med green bell pepper, chopped (optional)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, chopped (optional, leave it out if you don't like heat, or just don't have one on hand.)
Salt
1 Tbs chipotle flakes (optional, but very good, adds smokiness)
4 tsps ground cumin
2 tsps chili powder (optional)
1 16oz package dry black beans
7 cups hot chicken stock (or broth), vegetable stock, or water, or a mix (stock = more flavor).

Topping options:
fresh lime juice
cilantro
plain yogurt
sour cream
cheddar or jack cheese
slices of jarred jalapenos

1. Sauté all of the vegetables in olive oil with a couple pinches of salt. Once the veggies soften, make a little space in the pan and toast the spices for about 30 seconds, then stir into the vegetables.

2. Place the beans in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with the sautéed vegetables. Top it all with 7 cups hot liquid. If using homemade stock or water, add a half tsp of salt. If you are using store bought stock or broth, it's probably salty enough.

3. Cook on high for at least 7 hours.

4. If you want a thicker soup, you can give it a few buzzes with an immersion blender or put two cups of the soup in a blender, blend, and then add them back to the pot. I usually just eat it as is, with the whole beans.

5. Top as you like and enjoy.

Chorizo Mussels

This is one of my favorite recipes. It's great for entertaining, but also a really comfy winter meal for two. It was originally inspired by a recipe for chorizo and mussel soup, but I think I've changed it enough over many attempts to now call it my own. I started cooking mussels in Paris because they had such prominent displays in all of the market fish stands, and they seemed like something that I could easily prep in my small kitchen. This recipe makes me think of dinner shopping at the Rue Daguerre market: mussels from the seafood store, produce from a couple different stands, chorizo sec from any one of the many butchers, cream fraiche and a large slice of comte vieux from the fromager, and last but not least a fresh crusty baguette. I've been very happy to discover that though the atmosphere isn't the same, I can get most of these same ingredients at Eastern Market in DC. For those of you without a local seafood store, I noticed some good looking mussels at Whole Foods today, so maybe you can find them there.

Steamed mussels are traditionally served with fries, and it's a great combo. But, I think making good fries would turn this very simple almost fool-proof meal into a much more complicated one. I serve these mussels with plenty of good French bread to soak up the broth, and hunks of sharp firm cheese, like a comte, gruyere, or even a good sharp cheddar on the side. These are definitely best with a good Belgian style beer, like a trippel or flavorful white.

This is enough for a very hearty dinner for two. Depending on how long it takes to clean your mussels, the whole process should take about 30 min. I try to give precise measurements, but the recipe is very flexible, I've never done it exactly the same way twice. You could add tomatoes, replace the onions with leaks, or leave out the fennel.

1 Tbs olive oil
6 oz dry chorizo (only dry cured chorizo really works here, don't use the fresh stuff), chopped to about quarter-inch squares.
2 medium carrots, diced
One small onion (I like red), diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
Half a bulb of fennel, diced
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme (or a pinch dried thyme)
1 scant tsp paprika
optional pinch cayenne pepper to taste
1.5 pounds mussels
2 cups white wine
1/4 cup cream or creme fraiche

1. Clean the mussels. Rinse the whole batch, then scrub away anything clinging to the outside, and remove the beards if they have them (pull the little fuzzy thing sticking out of the mussel). I've found that mussels I've bought in the US have come nearly perfectly cleaned, while in France there was a lot of work to do. Your mussels should be tightly closed. If any are open, give them a little squeeze. If they don't respond by closing, then they aren't alive, throw them out. Also throw out any that have broken shells exposing the inside. Set the batch of clean mussels aside.

2. Make the broth. In a large pan that you can serve out of (I like to use my non-stick wok), begin to render the chorizo in the oil over medium high heat. Once the oil begins to turn red and the chorizo is fragrant, add the vegetables and a generous pinch of salt. Cook over medium-high heat until the veg begins to soften. Add the broth, thyme, and paprika. Simmer for around 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and the broth tastes like chorizo. If you think it needs more spice, add some cayenne, sparingly.

3. Meanwhile, steam the mussels. Put the wine and mussels in a wide shallow pan with a tight fitting lid. steam on medium-high heat for about 6 minutes, until all mussels have just opened widely. Then remove from heat, don't over cook.

4. Add cream and combine. Add the cream to the broth and stir, taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Then, using tongs, place the mussels in the broth. Throw out any mussels that did not open. Do not add the steaming liquid from the mussels pan. Serve immediately with bread, cheese, an extra bowl for shells, lots of napkins, and a chilled Belgian beer. Dig in.