Soupy Beans and Sweet Plantain

Spring is finally here in the UK and with the sporadic April showers we've been getting, soup season is not quite over in my mind. This black-eyed bean soup is comforting and delicious; a true hug in a bowl. Paired with some extra sweet fried plantain, it's completely irresistible. 

For this recipe, I used dried beans which I soaked overnight and cooked until tender but if you want to cheat or save time, you can certainly use tinned black-eyed beans and skip the first step.

As always, if you give this recipe a try and you like it, share your feedback with me over on Instagram. I love seeing and hearing about your food attempts :)

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

- 250g black-eyed beans (soaked overnight and drained)

- 1 large red bell pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped

- 1 tin plum tomatoes

- 1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped

- 3 cloves garlic, peeled

- 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger

- 1 scotch bonnet chilli

- Sunflower oil

- 1 tbsp all-purpose seasoning

- Salt, to taste

- 1 ripe plantain, peeled and diced into cubes

Method

1. Place the drained beans in a large cooking pot and cover completely with water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer, partially covered, for about 1 hour or until the beans are tender. Check the beans halfway through the cooking time to ensure the water hasn't dried up. This shouldn't happen, but if it does, simply add a bit more water. Once the beans are cooked, drain any excess liquid. 

2. While the beans are cooking, blend the red bell pepper, tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger and chilli in a food blender (with 1 cup of water) until very smooth.

3. Add the blended mixture to the pot of beans, along with the sunflower oil, all-purpose seasoning and salt. Adjust the water quantity to make it as soupy as you would like. Taste as you go and add more salt/seasoning if needed. Simmer over medium-low heat, covered, for 20-25 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, heat some sunflower oil in a frying pan (enough to deep-fry) and fry the diced plantain. Use a slotted spoon to turn the plantain in the oil, to ensure they don't stick together, cook evenly and turn golden on all sides. Drain the plantain on some kitchen paper.

5. Serve the beans hot with the diced plantain on top. Enjoy!