Beautiful soup

I tend to think of beans as an indulgence, a food that is satisfying and warming but more starchy than nutritious. Well, it turns out I’ve been wrong. Beans are in fact extraordinarily good for you, and black beans in particular are in the top ranks of cancer-fighters, along with foods such as blueberries, cranberries and grapes.

Apparently the color of the skin of certain foods can indicate the concentration of cancer-fighting antioxidants that food contains. Dark-skinned foods such as dark berries and black beans are apparently especially rich in the antioxidant known as anthocyanins. Black beans also have a lot of the antioxidants called polyphenols, which are also found in red wine. They help reduce plaque on the walls of your blood vessels, so you’re less likely to develop atherosclerosis.

Beans are also loaded with fiber, which helps promote digestive health and makes you feel full for longer with less food in your stomach, a boon if you’re trying to keep your weight down. Fiber also helps your body regulate your blood sugar, so you don’t get surges of energy and then sag.

Pregnant women in particular might want to learn to love black beans; they are folate-rich and, for the average person, provide 64 percent of the daily recommended dose of this essential B vitamin, which not only protects a fetus’ developing brain and spine but also helps protect your heart and cardiovascular system.

Also a boon for your heart is the magnesium found in black beans (30 percent of your recommended daily dose). This mineral helps keep the blood and oxygen flowing through your body.

More than anything else, black beans are endowed with an essential enzyme called molybdenum, which helps other parts of your body do what they need to do to keep it functioning and healthy. Black beans provide a more-than-adequate 172 percent of your recommended daily dose.

Of course there’s no need to explain why a hot bowl of soup can give you a sense of warmth and well-being on a cold, dark winter day. Make it a bowl of black bean soup, using this recipe from Marsden Epworth, and you’ll not only feel better you’ll also, well, feel better.

                                                               Black Bean Soup

Ingredients: 1 pound black beans, picked over and rinsed; 1 large onion, chopped; 4 leeks, chopped, 2 peeled carrots, chopped, 4 stalks celery, chopped; 1/4 pound diced salt pork, 2 bay leaves; the grated zest of two lemons; 2 cups red wine; chicken stock; salt and pepper; good olive oil; 3 to 5 cloves garlic; chopped parsley;

grated Parmesan cheese.

Black beans have an earthy, monotonous flavor, but add vegetables, herbs, lemon, garlic and wine and you have a grand soup. The salt pork is optional but very good.

First, soak beans overnight in cold water to cover. Drain, rinse and set aside. In a roomy Dutch oven, sauté diced salt pork in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until brown and crispy. Brown onion, leeks, carrots, celery adding each vegetable one at a time. Deglaze pot with wine and reduce. Then add beans and enough stock to cover the vegetables and beans by a couple of inches. Add bay leaves, cover and cook until beans are tender. That could be a couple of hours depending on their age. Add liquid as necessary, water or stock. When ready to serve, purée some of the soup to make it a bit smoother. Sauté garlic, finely chopped, in a few tablespoons of olive oil until tender and golden. Not brown. Add garlic and oil to soup with chopped parsley, lemon zest and salt and pepper to taste. Then top each serving with grated Parmesan. This is delicious. Really delicious. And good for you, too.  — Marsden Epworth