Black Bean Soup with Homemade Salsa

Salsa:
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, stems discarded, leaves coarsley chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 Jalapeno, diced

Soup:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 med. onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 med. carrot (I used 5 baby carrots)
1-2 celery stalks, sliced
3 jalapenos, diced (I used one can on green chilis)
1 lb. dried black beans (I used 2 cans, drained)
2 Tbs. salt
pepper to taste
water

To make the Salsa: combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
To make the Soup: In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over med. heat. Add onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and jalapenos. Saute until tender. Add black bean and cover them completely with cold water. Simmer until black beans are tender (if you use canned, drain them, cover with water, and simmer for at lest 30 minutes). Add salt and pepper. Let it cool comewhat. Transfer to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Either refrigerate until ready to use (up to one week) or return to pot and heat over low heat until warm. Ladle into bowls and top with salsa.

Renee's thoughts: This was really good. We ate it with corn tortilla chips. It was almost like a dip. It had a really good flavor and was very healthy. I did not make the salsa however, I used Jack's Salsa from Costco instead. The salsa sounds good, I just didn't feel like making it. This was a good soup, we liked it!