i love soup.  i’ve said it before, but i really do.

people also love rick bayless & i was looking forward to jumping on that bandwagon & cooking with dried beans & fennel & one of his recipes for the first time.  all the other ingredients are winners, and i even had enough time to let the soup simmer for the 2 hours it called for.

well, file this one under quasi fail, not for the flavor, but because somewhere in that 2 hour simmer time, i sat down on the couch.  sitting led to slouching, slouching to laying, and as it always happens when i make contact with the couch, i fell asleep.  tom came home to find me sleeping & the stove timer beeping.

he finished the soup.  i’m pretty sure that waaaay too much liquid simmer off, while i napped, because our soup wasn’t really so soupy.  it was delicious, but not soupy.

it didn’t loosen up when reheated either, so i spread it between some tortillas, added cheese & had fabulous quesadillas with the leftovers.  call me resourceful.

we”ll try this one again & i will be sure to stay away from the couch.

from serious eats (adapted from the best soups in the world) (serves 4)

3/4 lb dried black beans, picked through
12 cups water (yes, twelve)
6 oz mexican style chorizo, casings removed & crumbled
1 stalk fennel, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 chipotles in adobo, chopped
salt & pepper
12 medium shrimp, peeled & deveined
tortilla chips and mexican cheese for topping

1.  in a large pot, or dutch oven, add the beans and cover with 6 cups of water.  bring to a boil over high heat.  turn off and let the beans sit for 1 hour.  drain.

2.  put the beans back in the pot and cover with the remaining 6 cups of water.  crank the heat up to high, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer & stir in the chorizo, fennel, onion, and chipotle chiles in adobo.  use the lid to cover the pot partially & simmer until beans are tender, about 2 hours.  DO.  NOT.  SIT.  DOWN.

3.  use an immersion blender to blend the soup into a smooth puree, or puree in batches in the blender if you don’t have one.  turn the heat back up to medium, add salt & pepper to taste & let heat until hot.  add the shrimp to the mix & heat until cooked through.  spoon into bowls & top with cheese & tortilla chips.