Black-Bean Soup

Ingredients

• Soup:
• 1 pound dried black beans
• 2 bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 cups Chicken Stock or 2 1/2 (16-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Toppings:
• 3 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 6 tablespoons low-fat sour cream
• 6 tablespoons minced fresh onion
• 6 lime wedges

Preparation

1. To prepare soup, sort and wash beans; place in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; bring to a boil, and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain.
2. Cook the bacon in pan over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from pan. Add chopped onion, thyme, garlic, and bay leaves to bacon drippings in pan; sauté for 4 minutes. Add beans, bacon, Chicken Stock, and 3 cups water to pan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add salt, and simmer for 30 minutes or until beans are tender. Discard bay leaves. Place half of bean mixture in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Pour bean puree into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining bean mixture. Add to bowl.
3. Preheat oven to 350°.
4. To prepare toppings, place the tortilla strips in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until tortilla strips are toasted.
5. Ladle soup into each of 6 bowls, and top with tortilla strips, sour cream, and minced onion. Serve with lime wedges.