Last winter I was clearing out my pantry and found a couple cans of whole corn that I bought accidentally instead of creamed corn. I threw together a quick Mexican bean soup to use them up, but never wrote down the recipe, because I was just using up ingredients I don’t normally keep on hand. Then recently my auntie asked me to make it again… Oops! Had to make it up again. This time I’m writing it down and adding it to our regular rotation!
Makes a large pot. Leftovers freeze well.
Ingredients:
1 cup dry white beans
3 cups vegetable broth
28 fl oz canned diced tomatoes
2x 24 g taco seasoning mix
1x 24 g chili seasoning mix
1 cup dry basmati rice, rinsed
1 T minced fresh garlic
2 cups water
1 onion, finely diced
2x 12 fl oz canned whole kernel corn
1/2 lemon, juiced
312 g package of fresh baby spinach, chopped
680 ml strained tomatoes
19 fl oz canned black beans
Instructions:
- Cook the dry white beans in the vegetable broth in a pressure cooker (like an instant pot) for 20 minutes on high. Let it release pressure naturally. If you’re in a hurry swap this step for 2x 19 fl oz cans of white beans, like cannellini.
- Prep the vegetables, open the cans. I chop fresh spinach in a food processor, but you can also use a bag of frozen chopped spinach.
- Add the diced tomatoes (with liquid), seasoning packs, onion, garlic, extra water, and rinsed rice to the cooked beans and broth. Bring the pot up to a boil (I used the saute setting on my instant pot), and cook for about 15-20 minutes till the rice is tender, stirring regularly to prevent it sticking on the bottom.
- Add the remaining ingredients, if you like a thicker more flavourful soup, don’t drain any of the liquids on the beans or corn. Squeeze the juice of the lemon in and mix everything together gently. Let it come back up to a low simmer, then remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving hot.
- Leftovers can be reheated or frozen for later use.
Optional toppings include grated cheese, avocado, sour cream, tortilla chips, and/or fresh chopped cilantro.
Plum Hill 