I like soup, regardless of the weather, but this is a nice transitional soup for the seasons. It’s not heavy like a winter soup, but the spices give it a warming kick. This makes a TON of soup, so you may want to half it or prepare to freeze a bunch.
Instructions below are for doing this in a pressure cooker. If you don’t wish to cook it that way, presoak the beans overnight and then the rest is the same except cook on stovetop until beans are done.
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry pinto beans
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 5 stalks celery, chopped
- 3 carrots (or a couple of handfuls of baby carrots), chopped
- 5 potatoes, chopped
- 1 lb fresh green beans, cleaned and ends removed (or frozen)
- 12 oz bag of frozen corn
- 2 large cans diced tomatoes
- 3 cups V-8 or tomato juice
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 4 TBSP dried cilantro
- 3 TBSP cumin
- 1 TBSP chili powder
- 2 TBSP red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- lime wedges (1 per bowl)
- tortilla chips crushed or tortilla strips (optional)
- avocado sliced or diced (optional)
- vegan sour cream
Process
Place everything but the frozen corn (and green beans if you use frozen) in a large pressure cooker. If it will be too much liquid for your cooker to be safe, leave out some of the veg broth to add in the second stage. Bring to high pressure and cook 20 minutes. Turn off and allow to depressurize.
Check the pinto beans. If they aren’t done, return to a boil for a little longer without re-pressurizing until done. Once the beans are done bring to a low boil, add the frozen corn (and green beans if you didn’t use fresh) and any remaining veg broth, and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes.
If it isn’t broth-y enough (I have to admit that I’m not 100% sure how much veg broth I used), you can definitely add more. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with tortilla chips/strips, diced avocado, sour cream, hot sauce, and the juice from a lime wedge. Yum!