Pacific Broiler Black Bean Soup

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This soup dates back to Hawaii in the early 1990’s when the Pacific Broiler was serving up delicious meals at the Koko Marina Shopping Center over looking the marina.

Their black bean soup was packed with the flavors of fresh vegetables, black beans and the meatiness that came from the ham bone all simmered together slowly to perfection. All of those wonderful ingredients then got pureed into a creamy mixture that was packed with a melody of flavors that woke up your mouth. But that wasn’t the finished product. The soup was then topped with a dollop of sour cream, salsa and a sprinkling of green onions. Now that is a real stick to your ribs soup!

PACIFIC BROILER BLACK BEAN SOUP
2 pound meaty ham bone or smoked shank
12 cups water
2 cubes Knorr chicken bouillon
1 pound dried black beans
2 Tbsp. oil
1 large onion, diced small
1 large carrot, diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
1 med. serrano chili, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. black pepper

GARNISH
sour cream
salsa
green onions

Place the ham bone, black beans, bouillon and water in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Then turn down to a simmer.

Heat a sauté pan over med heat and sauté the onions, carrot, celery, serrano and garlic in the oil until the onions are soft. Add to the stock pot.

Cover pot and let cook at a low boil for 1 hour to an hour and a half or until the beans are soft.

Remove the ham bone and remove the skin and bones and discard. Chop ham into small pieces and add back to the pot.

The soup can be eaten at this stage or mash with a potato masher(for a chunkier soup) or pureed with an immersion blender which will create a thick puree (that is how I make it).

Garnish with sour cream, salsa and green onions.