Engagement Soup

Another one from Meg, consistent with the general theme of her posts. I contest that this one is slightly out of the ordinary, though.

This soup was inspired by an amazing day-trip to Toronto with a wonderful friend from college who now resides on that side of the border. We set out in search of thrift stores, art galleries and, ultimately, the acclaimed best nachos in the city. This led us, happily, to Utopia. I've referenced my nacho obsession in previous posts, something that began in college having lived a little too close to Sunset Cantina in Allston, the student "ghetto" for BU upperclassmen.

But, this post is not about nachos but rather the soup that preceded our nacho "entree": spicy black bean and corn soup. We were impressed, and Denali challenged me to figure out its constituent parts. This soup is even vegan friendly (if that suits your fancy) and will make your day better, even without a hearty side of nachos.

When in the testing phase, Graham and I also noticed that we normally double the spices recommended in most recipes, meaning we either like things with lots of flavor or have slowly eroded our tastebuds over time. Either way, take this as a note of caution when spicing your soup. Start with half of what we recommend and add as you like.

Also, as many faithful readers (hopefully) already know, Graham and I recently decided to make nostalgia for our college years a permanent feature of our lives. Yes, a wedding is in the works, however far off the actual date may be. We've taken to attaching the "engagement" prefix to everything lately — "let's have some engagement granola for breakfast" and " what sort of engagement salad dressing should we make?" — so humor us with a helping of this fabulous engagement soup. I think I can already hear Denali heckling several time zones away.

Spicy Black Bean and Corn Soup

Inspired by Utopia Cafe

Everything and Then Some

• 2 stalks celery, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2.5 tsp. ground cumin
• 2.5 tsp. ancho chili powder
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 14 oz. can coconut milk
• 1.5 cups of stock or water
• 3 cups drained and soften black beans (which should translate to 2 15 oz. cans or 1 cup dried black beans soaked all day)
• Salt and pepper to taste

The General Ordeal

1. Saute onions and celery in olive oil (or butter for the non-vegans) until soft. Add frozen corn, garlic, and spices. We would recommend starting with half the spices we note here, then adding as you taste. Let cook together over medium heat for about five minutes stirring regularly.
2. Add black beans, coconut milk and stock or water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minutes. I normally let simmer without the lid to let the soup thicken, but feel free to top the pot if you want to contain more of the moisture.
3. Puree the soup, if you would like. Either ladle into a food processor or use a stick blender. Adjust spices and sprinkle with cilantro before serving.

NB: Enjoy with heaping plate of nachos.