If you are Venezuelan, you already know today’s recipe: our succulent sopa de caraotas negras. If not, you may be wondering, caraotas negras? I must tell you that this is what we Venezuelans call black beans. So, today is my wonderful hearty black bean soup recipe.
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Why you will love this recipe?
Firstly, it is a delicious soup seasoned with the spices we traditionally use in Venezuelan cuisine. Caraotas negras are the quintessential Venezuelan beans. This soup has a great, robust flavor that will satisfy you because it is exceptionally nutritious.
And as if all that was not enough, although in some cases you have to start preparing this soup the day or night before (so that the beans soften), it is straightforward to make.
What are caraotas negras?
We Venezuelans call any bean (but lentils, chickpeas, and split peas) caraotas. The color doesn’t matter. Caraotas negras are black beans, and caraotas rojas are red beans. The same applies to white beans. For us, caraotas are what in other countries porotos, frijoles, frejoles, habichuelas or zaragozas are.
The scientific name of the black bean is Phaseolus vulgaris L. This is, no doubt, the most popular legume in Venezuelan gastronomy. Black beans are part of our typical national dish: the Pabellón Criollo, which is also composed of white rice, carne mechada (shredded beef,) and fried plantains.
They are also super nutritious. One hundred grams of black beans contain 50 grams of simple carbohydrates and 29 grams of protein (more than quinoa!) Black beans also have antioxidant properties.
Sopa de caraotas negras: A Family Recipe
This black bean soup evokes my paternal grandmother María de Lourdes’s recipe. My grandma Mayuya managed a small number of dishes. But I loved everything she cooked.
She used to make sopa de caraotas negras once a week. I remember she seasoned them with cilantro. Like many Venezuelans, she used to add sugar to her soup.
Instead of sugar, I add papelón (panela or piloncillo. ) Believe me: it’s delicious. I like mine with avocado because black beans and avocado are a match made in heaven.
Ingredients
To make these Venezuelan black beans, you will need the following ingredients:
- Black beans
- Bacon
- Onions
- Garlic
- Red bell pepper
- Ají dulce, a unique Venezuelan sweet peppers
- Papelón (panela or piloncillo)
- Bay leaves
- Cumin
- Dried oregano
- Black pepper
- Coarse sea salt
How to make Venezuelan black bean soup
Making this soup is very easy. Below, I describe the steps to make your black beans a success:
- Select the beans. The day before or early in the morning, check that your dried beans do not have pebbles or other impurities. Rinse them in a strainer with plenty of running water.
- Cook the beans. Put the beans in a large stock pot or Dutch oven with a whole onion cut into two halves and enough water to cover them. Cook over medium-high heat until boiling. Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium, cover, and cook for an hour or until the beans are soft. Suppose you followed these steps the day before: let the cooked beans rest at room temperature until the next day.
- Make the sofrito. Over medium heat, sauté the bacon, cut into strips, in a large saucepan, until golden brown. Add chopped onion, crushed garlic, red bell pepper, ají dulce, and sauté.
- Make the soup. Once the frijoles negros are soft, add the sofrito to the pot and season with a bay leaf, a pinch of ground cumin, oregano, black pepper, and salt. Cook, covered, over low heat, for 30-45 minutes.
How to soften beans quickly?
If you want to speed up the process of softening the beans, you can do the following:
- The night before, leave them soaking in water with a teaspoon of baking soda. The next day, rinse them and cook them with fresh water.
- Cook them in a pressure cooker.
- Cook them in an InstaPot.
Can I make this sopa de caraotas with canned black beans?
Of course. Since the beans are already soft, add them to a pot with water (in a 1:1 ratio), the sofrito, and the seasonings, and cook for half an hour.
How do I thicken this soup if it’s watery?
Depending on the quality of the beans, your caraotas negras soup may be thicker or thinner. If you want a thicker black bean soup, blend a cup of the beans with some of its inky broth in a blender, and then add the bean mixture back to the pot.
How do I serve these caraotas negras?
As I mentioned above, these beans, without so much liquid, are one of the four dishes that make up our Pabellón Criollo. Here, I share some ideas on how to enjoy them:
- If you eat them as a soup, these caraotas negras are delicious plain. But you can also add a garnish of ripe avocado with white cheese, avocado with cilantro as in the photos, or simple grated white cheese.
- Serve them with two or three tablespoons of white rice on top and drizzle with olive oil.
- With the leftovers, you can make a sofrito with onion, garlic cloves, red bell pepper, and ají dulce, all sautéed in olive oil until wilted. Add the remains of beans and make our traditional refried beans or “refritas.” Believe me: you won’t regret it.
- There’s nothing like some good refried beans and white cheese to stuff arepas. That’s what our Domino Arepa is all about: filled with black beans and Venezuelan queso blanco.
- If you strain the liquid, these beans, with or without cheese, are a world-class filling for good fried empanadas.
- Blended, these beans are transformed into a delicious black bean creamy soup that you can serve with sour cream.
Substitutes & Variations
- For a vegan version, omit the bacon.
- Add hot sauce or cayenne pepper to the sofrito for a spicy soup.
- You can use green bell pepper instead of red bell pepper.
- Add sugar or brown sugar if you don’t have papelón handy.
- If you’re unsure about sweetening your beans when cooking them, skip the sweet and let everyone decide whether or not to sweeten them at the table.
How do I store this black bean soup?
In an airtight container, this soup lasts up to a week in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it for up to six months.
Other black bean recipes
Don’t miss these recipes in which black beans are also the protagonists:
- Refried black beans with white cheese and creamy avocado
- Texas caviar with black beans
- Grilled corn salad with black beans
- Quinoa salad with corn and black beans
- Black Bean Hummus
- Cuban black beans with rice (Moros y Cristianos)
Venezuelan Black Bean Soup Recipe
Without further ado, I’m sharing my black bean soup recipe. I hope you like it as much as we do.
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Sopa de Caraotas Negras: Venezuelan Black Beans Soup
Ingredients
- ½ pound dried black beans 225 grs
- 8 cups water
- 4 slices bacon frozen, cut into ¼-inch strips, about 0.5 cm
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion cut in two
- 1 cup onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup red bell pepper deveined and seeded, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons ají dulce deveined and seeded, finely chopped
- ¼ cup papelón panela or piloncillo
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Coarse sea salt
For the garnish
- 2 cups avocado ripe but firm, seed and skin removed, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup cilantro
Instructions
- Choose the beans. Check that they do not have pebbles or other impurities. Rinse them in a strainer with plenty of running water.
- Add the beans with the water and the onion cut into two halves in a pot, and cook over medium-high heat until it boils.
- Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium and cook, covered, for an hour or until the beans become soft. With a slotted spoon, remove and discard the foam that forms during cooking.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon in its fat for about 5 minutes until it begins to brown.
- Add the onion and garlic and sauté until wilted, about 5 minutes.
- Add the red bell pepper and the ají dulce, and sauté for 5 more minutes.
- Add the sofrito, the papelón, and the spices: bay leaf, cumin, oregano, and black pepper to the pot with the beans. Season with salt, stir, and cook over medium heat, covered, for 30-45 minutes.
- If the soup becomes too thick, add a couple of additional cups of water. If, on the other hand, you want it thicker, put a cup of soup (beans and liquid) in the vase of a blender, blend until a creamy, uniform mixture is formed, and add it back to the pot.
- Adjust the salt and add a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Serve with avocado and cilantro.
Nutrition
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