Quick and Tasty Black Bean Soup

This recipe is too good not to share. For those of you who don't know Serious Eats, its archive has more recipes than you could possibly ever need. They have a great variety of trustworthy recipes as well, so if you're after a certain dish--say, black bean soup--they usually have a classic recipe, plus several more unusual one. This particular one is fast, easy, and delicious: everything a recipe should be.

Black Bean Soup
adapted from this recipe from Serious Eats

• 1 tablespoon oil or butter
• 1/2 - 1 bell pepper (I used red), diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin (I couldn't find the ground kind, and used whole seeds)
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (lower or raise for spicyness preference)
• 2 chipotle chiles packed in adobo + 1 tbsp adobo sauce*
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 bay leaves

 * I know this is a less common ingredient, but the chipotle really makes this soup. If you can't find any, a splash of a strong chipotle salsa, plus a teaspoon of added chipotle powder might do the trick.

1. Heat oil or butter in soup pot over medium-high heat. Add pepper, tomato, and onion and cook until soft, 3-4 minutes.
2. Add garlic, cumin, and red pepper flakes, and cook for another minute while stirring.
3. Add chipotle and adobo sauce, broth, beans, and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
4. Increase heat to a boil, then reduce heat until soup is simmering, and cover pot with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes.
5. Remove bay leaves and blend using an immersion blender or by pouring into a regular blender. The soup can either be pureed, or left partly chunky--whichever you prefer.
6. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some chopped cilantro.