Sherried Black Bean Soup With Shrimp

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1/2 lb dried black beans, soaked overnight in water and drained
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon dry
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 6 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1 teaspoon chopped mint

Recipe

• 1 cover six 4" skewers with water and soak for 2 hours.
• 2 put the beans in a medium saucepan, add enough water to cover by 2" and bring to boil. reduce the heat to low and simmer the beans until tender, about 2 hours; add water as needed to keep beans subnmerged. pour off all but 2 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid.
• 3 meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. add the onion, garlic, and green pepper and cook over moderate heat until the vegetables are softened, about 6 minutes. add the cumin and oregano and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• 4 scrape the vegetables into the saucepan of beans and add the cream, , vinegar and 1 tablespoons of the cilantro. working in batches, puree the beans in a blender until very smooth. return the soup to the saucepan and season with salt and pepper; keep warm.
• 5 light a grill. in a small bowl, toss the shrimp with the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 teaspoons of cilantro and the mint. thread 1 shrimp each skewer and season with salt and pepper. grill the shrimp over a hot fire until curled and lightly charred, about 1 minute per side. pour the soup into tall shot glasses and garnish each glass with a grilled shrimp.
• 6 the soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated gently.