Pinto Bean Soup with Mint & Pine Nuts
Submitted by olsonsinport
Pureed pinto bean soup with New Mexican red chile, cream, fresh herbs, and toasted pine nuts. Velvety, rustic Southwestern soup with deep slow-cooked bean flavor.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
1 hrsThis is a soup that proves how few ingredients you actually need when each one is doing real work. Dried pinto beans cooked with onion and a single teaspoon of New Mexican red chile, then pureed with cream and topped with toasted pine nuts and fresh herbs. Earthy, smooth, and far more elegant than the simple ingredient list suggests.
The two-stage soak-and-quick-boil at the start isn’t just tradition. The overnight soak hydrates the beans evenly; the five-minute hard boil and rinse removes the indigestible sugars (the ones responsible for the famous bean side effects) and any bitter compounds in older beans.
New Mexican red chile is the soul of this soup. Mild, fruity, and earthy without much heat, it dyes the broth a beautiful brick color and adds the smokiness that makes you think the soup has been simmering all day. Substitute ancho chile powder if you can’t find it.
Pureeing only half (or working in batches) gives the soup body without making it baby food. The cream goes in after the puree to keep it from breaking under high heat. Half-and-half is the sweet spot for richness without going over the top.
Chef Tips
- Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet, watching constantly, they go from pale gold to burnt in 30 seconds.
- Salt the beans only AFTER they’re tender. Salt added early can prevent beans from softening.
- Reserve a few whole cooked beans before pureeing to garnish each bowl for textural interest.
- A squeeze of lime juice at the table brightens the rich broth.
Variations
- Stir in 1 teaspoon ground cumin or smoked paprika for deeper Southwestern flavor.
- Garnish with crumbled cotija or queso fresco instead of (or alongside) the herbs.
- Use vegetable broth in place of water for a more savory, full-bodied soup.
Ingredients
Directions
Soak beans overnight; drain.
Transfer to a large soup pot and cover the beans with fresh water.
Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse them.
Warm the oil in the soup pot, add the onion and chile and briefly cook together.
Next add the beans and 10 cups of water; bring to a boil.
Simmer until beans are tender, about 45 minutes for new beans, longer for older beans.
Season to taste with salt, then continue cooking until they are completely soft.
Purée half the beans and cooking liquid at a time in the blender until smooth.
Return the purée to the pot.
Add cream and reheat. Chop toasted pine nuts finely.
Stir in the chopped herbs, reserving some of the chives.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with remaining chives and the pine nuts.
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