Thing-a-day.com

Somehow I’ve internalized that “thing-a-day” is supposed to be completely new things. This is hard for me, and makes me feel too pressured to perform. I’m always doing variations on a theme. Hopefully these don’t fall short of the mark. I hope this one satisfies all y’all…

This is a perennial favourite of mine, black bean soup à la my hometown of New Orleans. It’s in honour of my high school’s 25th annual jazz festival, one in which I participated for 4 years. (Hats off to you, Jim Warrick! Good luck in your retirement!) I changed up the seasonings and ingredients today for a “new” creation.

Ingredients

• 2 cups black beans
• 1 smoked ham hock, as large & local as you can get
• 1-2 andouille sausages, or other locally available smoked sausage
• 3 stalks celery
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely chopped
• 1 can (local, organic) roma tomatoes
• 1 cup dry sherry
• 1 cup sour cream or balkan-style yoghurt
• 3-4 green onions, chopped
• Spices to taste. My unique blend for today:
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro
  • 3 sprigs dried epazote
  • 3 medium-large laurel leaves (bay leaves)
  • 1 tsp. dried rosemary
  • 2 tsp. dried oregano
  • ½ tsp. dried thyme
  • 16 grinds mixed peppercorns
  • ½ tsp. coarse grind black pepper
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • ½ tsp crushed coriander seed
  • 1 tsp. dry powdered mustard
  • ½ tsp. crushed red pepper
  • ½ tsp. powdered cayenne pepper
  • 1 whole red pepper (I used a thai sort)
  • ¼ tsp. dried basil
  • 5 cassia seeds (or whole cloves)
  • ½ tsp. ground savory
  • ½ tsp. dried lemon peel
  • 1 tsp. Wright’s all natural hickory seasoning (a.k.a. liquid smoke)

Directions

Soak black beans overnight in enough water to cover by 1cm. (If pressed for time, bring beans and same amount of water to a boil for 10 minutes, then let sit for 2 hours instead.) Transfer to a pot. Add enough water to cover by 3cm, bring to a boil, then simmer for 1½ hours.

Add sausage, ham hock, tomatoes, celery, onions, garlic, and spices, plus enough water to cover by 3cm again (if necessary). Return to a boil, then simmer for another 1½ hours.

Remove the ham hock and separate meat from bone. Chop meat and sausage into bite-sized chunks. If desired, also chop fat into chunks. Return meats (and fat) to the soup, adding the sherry. Simmer for another 30 minutes.

Remove from heat. Serve, or for an even better treat, cool, refrigerate, and serve the next day. Freezes very well — but you won’t have any left to freeze!

Presentation

Serve preferably in a large, shallow bowl. In the centre, place a dollop of sour cream and garnish with green onions. Serve with personal sourdough baguettes and a rich, Old world red wine. Enjoy while listening to jazz.