Spicy Black Bean Soup with Limed-Up Shrimp

This soup is so yummy! If you don’t feel like soup, just marinate and cook the shrimp as directed and serve with flavored rice.

Spicy Black Bean Soup with Limed-Up Shrimp

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Zest and juice of 2 limes
¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, a generous handful, chopped
16 jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, and butterflied
2 (14-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14-ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
5 cups chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream (optional)
Hot sauce, to taste

Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of the extra-virgin olive oil, twice around the pan. Add the onions, three-fourths of the garlic, the chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes or until the onions are tender, stirring frequently.

While the onions are cooking, in a shallow dish combine the remaining garlic, the remaining 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, the red pepper flakes, lime zest, parsley, and a little salt. Add the shrimp and coat them thoroughly in the mixture. Let the shrimp sit while you move forward with the spicy black bean soup.

Add the black beans to the skillet with the onions. With a potato masher or the back of a rubber spatula, smash the equivalent of half of the beans—the mashed-up beans will thicken the soup. Add the fire-roasted tomatoes, chicken stock, and heavy cream to the pot, stir, and turn the heat up a bit to bring the soup up to a bubble. Once at a bubble, turn the heat back down to a simmer and let it cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Give the pot a stir every now and then to ensure that it is not sticking.

While the soup is simmering, preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it is hot add the shrimp and cook them for 2 to 3 minutes on the firs side. Flip the shrimp, add the lime juice, and continue to cook them for 2 to 3 more minutes or until the shrimp are opaque.

Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. To serve it, place a few ladles full of the spicy black bean soup in shallow bowls, and arrange 4 shrimp standing up in the center of each bowl.

Recipe source: Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals
Yield: 4 servings