I love mexican food for its blend of different spices, savoury flavours and overall heartiness. Whenever I have a mexican food craving I think of nachos topped with chilli on carne, beef enchiladas, and chicken quesadillas. Mexican food is rich, comforting, and just food for the soul. However, some of these dishes may be calorie dense and not for everyday eating.
That’s why I have created this dish. It’s for when I crave mexican flavours but want don’t want to overeat. Being a soup, it’s made for rainy days or chilly winters. Cooking up the onion, red peppers, tomatoes, and carrot really brings out the sweetness of the vegetables and enhances the flavour of the stock.
I’ve chosen to keep it vegetarian because the beans in it add a decent amount of protein, which makes it a good option for some of your meat-free mondays. It’s for everyday eating that’s good for your heart. However, if you really need your animal protein, whether just for taste or if you’re on a high protein diet, feel free to add in some minced beef right after step 2!
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Mexican Bean Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, finely sliced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 medium red peppers, cubed
- 1 medium carrot, cubed
- 2 tomatoes, cubed
- 1 can kidney beans, drained
- 2 cups water
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
- 1 avocado, coarsely chopped
- 8 slices of wholemeal bread
Methods
- Heat olive oil in sauce pan on medium heat.
- Add in garlic, onion, cumin, paprika and cinnamon. Cook till onions become soft and turn a light brown, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Turn the heat up to medium high, add in red peppers and cook for a minute, stirring frequently.
- Add in carrots, tomatoes, kidney beans, water, salt, and pepper. Stir and cover.
- Bring to boil and then reduce heat to medium low to simmer for 30-60 minutes. Remove from heat once vegetables are cooked to your desired softness.
- Portion soup out into four bowls. Divide the Monterey jack cheese and avocado into 4 portions and sprinkle over the soup. Serve each bowl with 2 slices of toasted bread.
Tips
If you prefer a smooth and creamy soup, blend it up using a hand held blender before serving. This would make it child/elderly friendly as it becomes a paste and doesn’t require much chewing.
