Black Bean Cassoulet Soup

Name: Black Bean Cassoulet Soup
Yield: 16
Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients: black beans; olive oil; onions; garlic; ham bone; water; cumin; oregano; bay leaves; kosher salt; black pepper; cayenne pepper; italian parsley; garlic sausage; italian sausage; italian sausage; bratwurst; sweet red bell peppers; sherry; brown sugar, dark; lemon juice; sour cream

Submitted by kono

Ingredients

POUNDS BLACK BEANS
dried

1 ¼

CUPS OLIVE OIL

CUPS ONIONS
yellow, diced

CLOVES GARLIC
crushed

EACH HAM BONE
very meaty, or 2 smoked ham hocks *

QUARTS WATER *

3 ½

TABLESPOONS CUMIN
ground

TABLESPOONS OREGANO
dried *

EACH BAY LEAVES *

TABLESPOON KOSHER SALT

TABLESPOON BLACK PEPPER
freshly ground

PINCH CAYENNE PEPPER *

TABLESPOONS ITALIAN PARSLEY
chopped fresh

1 3/4-2

POUNDS GARLIC SAUSAGE *

EACH ITALIAN SAUSAGE
sweet, cut into 1inch pieces *

EACH ITALIAN SAUSAGE
hot, cut into 1inch pieces *

POUND BRATWURST
cut into 1inch pieces *

MEDIUM SWEET RED BELL PEPPERS
cored, seeded, diced

CUP SHERRY
dry *

TABLESPOONS BROWN SUGAR, DARK

TABLESPOONS LEMON JUICE
fresh

X SOUR CREAM *

Directions

Soak the black beans in water to cover overnight.
Heat 1 cup of the oil in a large heavy stock pot over low heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are limp, about 10 minutes.
Drain and rinse the beans and add to the stock pot. Add the ham bone and 6 quarts of the water. Stir in the cumin, oregano, bay leaves, salt, pepper, cayenne, and 3 tablespoons of the parsely. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered at a slow rolling boil for 2 hours, skimming foam from the top and stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Place the garlic sausage in a medium-size saucepan and add the remaining 2 quarts water. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 40 minutes. Drain. Remove casings and cut into ½-inch slices.
Heat the remaining ¼ cup oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the Italian sausages and sauté until browned. Remove the sausages with a slotted spoon.
In the same skillet, sauté the bratwurst until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon.
After 2 hours of cooking, process 2 cups of the beans in a food processor fitted with a steel blade until smooth and return to the pot. Continue to cook for 30 minutes.
Add all the sausages and the red peppers and cook for another 30 minutes.
Remove the ham bone from the soup, shred the meat and return to the pot. Stir in the sherry, sugar, and lemon juice.
Cook over medium heat until the beans are very soft and the soup is thick, 30 to 45 minutes. Stir in the remaining 5 tablespoons chopped parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Ladle the soup into soup bowls and dollop each serving with sour cream.