Black Bean, Sausage, & Sweet Potato Soup

I love food. I love cooking it, eating it, smelling it, reading about it, looking at it.... and I know this love was directly passed down from my mom, Lisa.

I am lucky that my mom is the amazing cook that she is. Growing up I loved to eat her food, and my brother and I have so many shared food-related memories. I decided I want to make a recipe book featuring some of my favorite recipes of hers, paired with photos of the food. So I came up with an idea to stay motivated to do so: I will make something every week, share the recipe with you to enjoy, and maybe share a tip or two that I have learned regarding food photography...something that is not easy. (By the way the photo below is just taken with my iPhone...not off to a great start but it will do).And who knows...maybe when I am done, you could win a copy of the recipe book! :) So here is one my favorite soup recipes from my wonderful mother, perfect for Fall. Enjoy!


P.S. want a cute place to write down this recipe? I stumbled across these free recipe printables from a beautiful food blog called Scissors.Paper.Rock. Click here!

::Black Bean, Sausage, & Sweet Potato Soup::

3 Cans of Black Beans
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Bay Leaf
1/4 tsp. Ground Allspice
4 Cups Chicken Broth
1Tablespoon Tomato Paste
1/2 pound kielbasa or other smoked sausage
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 lb Sweet Potatoes
3 Scallions, chopped
Sour cream for garnish (optional)

In a 4 Quart saucepan simmer beans, garlic, bay leaf, allspice, & broth, partially covered, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. in a blender puree 1 cup of the beans with 1 cup cooking liquid and return to the pan.

In a small bowl site together tomato paste and 1 Tablespoon of water and store into beans with sausage and worcestershire sauce. Simmer soup, covered, for 15 minute. (Soup can be prepared up to this point 3 days ahead, cooled uncovered and chilled covered).

While soup is simmering, peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/2" pieces. Steam in a steamer until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir potatoes, scallions, and salt & pepper to taste into soup.

Garnish with scallion greens and if desired, sour cream. Enjoy!