You may recall a post from December wherein I discussed my family’s eating habits and mentioned: “We don’t eat beans. Period. Dad thinks we’re nuts for including cannoli and garbanzo beans [in a soup my Man and I made].” Well, after all my whiny posts and my decision to cook what I wanted to eat for lunch irregardless of what my parents thought, I made something with beans in it that my dad actually liked.
A lot of my interest in cooking different, good, healthy food stems from time I’ve spent with my Man and his parents. One of the first times I visited with them, his mother made this delicious soup. It was the first of many recipes she’s given me. After a quick internet search, it appears the recipe is from Cooking Light, though it tastes anything but light.
“Carol’s” Tarascan Soup
You’ll need:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, undrained
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 (16-ounce) can chicken broth (can substitute fat-free, less sodium)
- Shredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 1 cup; can substitute reduced fat)
- Tortilla chips, crushed (about 1 cup)
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic, cook for 3 minutes.* Add canned tomatoes with their liquid, stir, cook 5 minutes.
2. Put beans and their liquid into a food processor (or blender) and process until smooth.
3. Add the beans, chili powder, cumin, hot sauce, salt and broth to the pan. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 18 more minutes, uncovered.
4. Serve with shredded cheese and crushed chips. Serves about 8.
*My apologies to anyone who doesn’t like onions and garlic as much as I do and is weary of the fact that the majority of my recipes appear to start with a step identical to this one.
