Black Bean"cassoulet" Soup

Ingredients

1,000 gr black
300 ml best-quality olive oil
350 gr onions
12 garlic
1 meaty ham bone
2 smoked ham hocks
7,600 ml water
22 gr cumin
12 gr oregano
3 bay leaves
8 gr coarse
8 gr black pepper
1 gr cayenne pepper
14 gr italian
525 gr garlic sausage
6 sweet italian sausage links
6 italian sausage links
1 bratwurst
3 size sweet peppers
60 ml dry sherry
40 gr dark brown sugar
30 ml lemon juice

Instructions

From The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook. " Our black bean soup is a Silver Palate staple. In this recipe we've dressed it up with lots of hot and garlicky sausages, sweet red peppers, a bit of brown sugar, and unusual spices. This makes a meal when served with a crisp, tart green salad." Sour cream 1. Soak the black beans in water to cover overnight.

2. Heat 1 cup of the oil in a large heavy stock pot over low heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are limp, about 10 minutes. 3. Drain and rinse the beans and add to the stock pot. Add the ham bone and 6 litre of the water. Stir in the cumin, oregano, bay leaves, salt, pepper, cayenne, and 3 tablespoons of the parsely. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered at a slow rolling boil for 2 hours, skimming foam from the top and stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. 4. Place the garlic sausage in a medium-size saucepan and add the remaining 2 litre water. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 40 minutes. Drain. Remove casings and cut into 1 cm slices. 5. Heat the remaining quarter cup oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the Italian sausages and saute until browned. Remove the sausages with a slotted spoon. 6. In the same skillet, saute the bratwurst until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon. 7. After 2 hours of cooking, process 2 cups of the beans in a food processor fitted with a steel blade until smooth and return to the pot. Continue to cook for 30 minutes. 8. Add all the sausages and the red peppers and cook for another 30 minutes. 9. Remove the ham bone from the soup, shred the meat and return to the pot. Stir in the sherry, sugar, and lemon juice. 10. Cook over medium heat until the beans are very soft and the soup is thick, 30 to 45 minutes. Stir in the remaining 5 tablespoons chopped parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings. 11. Ladle the soup into soup bowls and dollop each serving with sour cream. Makes 16 portions.