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“In the New World, the remains of beans were found in a Peruvian Andean cave dated to 6000 B.C. Mentions of black beans show up in the writings of ancient Mayans,” wrote my editor Joe Yonan, in “Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World's Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein.”
Traditional Brazilian feijoada marries the velvety bean with smoky pork and a crunchy topping of toasted cassava flour. Colombian and Venezuelan cooks season black beans with onions, garlic, sweet peppers and bay leaves. Peruvians add vinegar for frijoles escabechados.
Mexican cooks infuse frijoles negros de olla with chiles for a touch of heat. Throughout Central America, cooks top stewed black beans with chopped raw onion, cilantro or simple salsas. Cuban black beans often start with a sofrito and are especially pungent with garlic and cilantro. Haitian cooks add fresh coconut and puree the stewed beans into the sauce known as sos pwa nwa.
This recipe, for coconut and black bean soup with a mango and avocado salsa, is an homage to this legacy.
It starts with sauteed onions and garlic, plus tomato paste and cumin — a sort of cheater sofrito. Cooked or canned black beans go in next, along with canned coconut milk. The inky broth turns a stylish gray and is tinted pale scarlet with a bit of ground chiles.
Puree half (or more) of this mixture, then be sure to heat it through and season it well. You may wish to add more salt or spice, a squeeze of lime or splash of vinegar.
Then, referencing Mexican and Central American traditions and Caribbean fruits, I suggest a salsa topping, a slightly sweet and acidic salad of mango, avocado, red onion, cilantro and lime juice. It’s lush and bright and offsets the density of this satisfying soup.
