Turtle Bean Soup Recipes

TORTILLA AND BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Combine the chicken and water in a large pot over high heat. Cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from the pot, and cut into bite-size pieces.
• Return the meat to the pot. Add the onion, kidney beans, ranch style beans, pinto beans, black beans, hominy, tomatoes, taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix. Mix well, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes or until heated through.

TURTLE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Soften beans according to directions. Drain soak water.
• Add bacon, chilies, corn, and spices.
• Mix flour and cold water and add to beans.
• Simmer for 20 minutes, or add to slow-cooker and simmer as long as you want.
• Can be served as a soup (may need more liquid) or over rice.

SLOW-COOKER BLACK-BEAN SOUP WITH TURKEY

Steps:

• Set aside half an onion and chop the rest. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions, carrots and garlic; sprinkle with the flour and cook, stirring, until slightly browned, 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water and scrape up any browned bits from the pan. Transfer the vegetables and cooking liquid to a slow cooker. Add the beans, turkey drumstick, pickling-spice packet, red pepper flakes and 8 cups water. Cover and cook on low 6 hours.
• Remove the drumstick and shred the meat; keep warm. Remove about 2 cups beans from the cooker and blend until smooth (or partially blend with an immersion blender). Return the beans and turkey meat to the soup. Season with salt and pepper.
• Mince the reserved 1/2 onion. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the cilantro and minced onion. Garnish with sour cream and lime, if desired.

TURTLE SOUP

Steps:

• Put the chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl. Put the half-and-half and coffee beans in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour over the chopped chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Add the corn syrup and vanilla and whisk together. Pour through a strainer into a serving pitcher. If you're not serving immediately, chill until serving. (The recipe can be made up to this point and kept refrigerated up to 2 days in advance.) When ready to serve, heat the caramel sauce in the microwave. Heat the pitcher of chocolate soup in the microwave. Put a scoop of butter pecan ice cream in each of 8 serving bowls and drizzle with caramel sauce. At the table, pour the hot chocolate soup around the ice cream.
• Caramel Sauce: Pour the sugar into the center of a deep saucepan. Carefully pour the water around the walls of the pan, trying not to splash any sugar onto the walls. Do not stir; gently draw your finger twice through the center of the sugar, making a cross, to moisten it. Over high heat, bring to a full boil and cook without stirring, swirling the pan occasionally to even out the color, until medium caramel in color, 5 to 10 minutes. Immediately turn off the heat and use a wooden spoon to slowly and carefully stir in the cream (it will bubble up and may splatter). Set aside. If the sauce has cooled, rewarm it over low heat (or in a microwave) until softened.

TORTILLA SOUP WITH BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium. Cook garlic and chili powder until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes (with juice), beans, broth, corn, and 1 cup water; season with salt and pepper.
• Bring soup to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Add tortilla chips; cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice, and season with salt and pepper. Serve soup with lime wedges and, if desired, more chips.

BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• This soup is preferably made at least one day in advance.
• Slice off and reserve the rind of the bacon. Cut the bacon into quarter-inch cubes. There should be about one and one-half cups.
• Put the bacon cubes and the rind into a heavy kettle or casserole and cook, stirring often, until rendered of fat. When ready, the bacon cubes should be well-browned and crisp.
• Add the onions, celery, carrots, bay leaf, garlic, thyme, three tablespoons of the cumin, black pepper and oregano. Stir to blend and cover the kettle or casserole closely. Cook about five minutes over moderately low heat. Do not allow the mixture to burn.
• Add the tomato paste and stir briefly. Add the chicken broth and bring to the boil.
• Rinse and drain the beans and add them to the soup. Cook, uncovered, over relatively high heat about two and one-half hours, skimming the surface occasionally to remove foam, scum and fat as it rises to the top. The soup is ready when the beans are soft and some of them have disintegrated because of the cooking heat and stirring.
• Stir in the lime juice, cayenne pepper, salt, cilantro and remaining cumin. Remove and discard the bacon rind and bay leaf.
• Ladle the soup into individual soup bowls. Serve the salsa and sour cream on the side, to be added at will. This soup is best served with jalapeno corn-bread muffins as an accompaniment.

TURTLE SOUP

Steps:

• In a heavy 4-qt. saucepan, bring turtle meat and water to a boil. Skim off foam. Chop 1 onion and set aside. Quarter the other onion; add to saucepan along with bay leaf, cayenne pepper and salt. Cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the meat is tender. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and cut into 1/2-in. cubes; set aside. Strain broth and set aside. Rinse and dry saucepan; melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook chopped onion until tender. Add flour; cook and stir until bubbly and lightly browned. Whisk in reserved broth; cook and stir until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer,, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add chicken broth, eggs, lemon juice and meat. Simmer for 5 minutes or until heated through. Garnish with parsley if desired.

TURKEY BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook the turkey, onion and celery in oil over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add the broth, corn, beans, chilies, oregano, cumin, chili powder and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve with cheese if desired.

PREPARED BLACK TURTLE BEANS

Steps:

• The night before: wash beans and remove any debris.
• Place in large mixing bowl and add water to cover plus 4 inches.
• To cook: pour off water from beans and place in 6-quart heavy kettle or dutch oven.
• Add enough water to cover, plus 2 inches.
• Cover and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat but keep boiling at steady rate.
• Boil beans for about 2 1/2 hours or until just tender.
• Stir occasionally.
• Add water as needed.
• (Ideally, at the end of the cooking time, there will be just enough water to cover the beans.) Remove from heat.
• Add remaining ingredients and stir well.
• Allow to cool.
• Scoop 2 cups of mixture into each freezer bag.
• Try to distribute an equal amount of liquid into each bag.
• Squeeze out excess air and seal.
• Freeze.
• To use: Remove bag from freezer and allow to thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours, OR thaw bag in microwave according to manufacturer's directions, OR run warm water over bag to release contents from bag, then place frozen bean mixture in saucepan and heat over low flame until hot.
• Each bag yields 4 servings.

SLOW-COOKER ZESTY BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat beans and water to boiling in 4-quart Dutch oven; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour.
• Drain beans. Place beans and remaining ingredients except sour cream and cilantro in 6-quart slow cooker.
• Cover and cook on Low heat setting 10 to 12 hours.
• Serve soup topped with sour cream and cilantro.

BEST BLACK BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Empty the can of chiles into a blender or food processor. Purée until smooth, scrape into a container, and set aside. Put on a teakettle of water to boil, and keep hot.
• In a large, heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add carrots, onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Pour in wine and let simmer until pan is almost dry and vegetables are coated. Add jalapeños and cook, stirring, just until softened, 2 minutes. Push the vegetables out to the edges of the pot and dollop 2 teaspoons of chipotle purée in the center. Let fry for a minute and then stir together with the vegetables.
• Add beans, stock, oregano and bay leaves. Stir, bring to a boil, and let boil 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, partly covered, stirring occasionally and adding hot water as needed to keep the soup liquid and runny, not sludgy. Continue cooking until beans are just softened and fragrant, 1 to 2 hours. Add salt and pepper and keep cooking until beans are soft.
• Meanwhile, make the pickled onions, if using: In a bowl, combine sliced onions, lime juice and a sprinkling of salt. Let soften at room temperature until crunchy and tart, about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze dry in paper towels and refrigerate until ready to serve. If desired, chop coarsely before serving.
• Adjust the texture of the soup: The goal is to combine whole beans, soft chunks and a velvety broth. Some beans release enough starch while cooking to produce a thick broth without puréeing. If soup seems thin, use an immersion blender or blender to purée a small amount of the beans until smooth, then stir back in. Continue until desired texture is reached, keeping in mind that the soup will continue to thicken as it sits.
• Heat the soup through, taste and adjust the seasonings with salt, pepper, drops of red wine vinegar and dabs of chipotle purée.
• Serve in deep bowls, garnishing each serving with sour cream, pickled onions, cilantro leaves, sliced chiles and avocado as desired.

TUSCAN SMOKED TURKEY-BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Place the beans into a large bowl, fill the bowl with water, and cover the bowl with a cloth. Allow to soak overnight. Drain and rinse the beans.
• Place the soaked beans, turkey legs, onion, and bay leaves into a large soup pot, cover with water, then bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 3 hours. Remove bay leaves, and discard. Remove the turkey legs from the broth, separate the meat from the bones and tendons, and return the meat to the broth. Stir in celery, carrots, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper; simmer until the celery and carrots are tender, about 1 hour. Serve in bowls and sprinkle each serving with about 1 teaspoon of Parmesan cheese.

VEGETABLE-BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add carrots, celery, and onion and cook until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and season with salt and pepper; cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, broth, and parsley and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide soup among four bowls and serve with Parmesan.