Black Bean Soup with Tofu Croutons

Is there anything better than a warm bowl of soup on a cold winter day? As I was typing that sentence I just thought, “Um, yes, a plane ticket somewhere tropical. That’d be much, much better than soup.” But let’s focus on the small joys in life here.

Throughout my time working with Nasoya on this series of tofu recipes and posts, I did a ton of experimenting in the kitchen trying to find ways to have fun with the texture of tofu. I think one thing that often turns people off from tofu is the mushy factor, but there are ways to change this. Turns out a little bit of cornstarch goes a long way. Now, I know cornstarch isn’t exactly a superfood (ha!). I sort of think of it like white rice–not bringing much to the table, but also not a total bad guy. I don’t regularly cook with it, but the texture benefit that comes from just a small sprinkle on the tofu is well worth it.

It took some brainstorming and failed attempts (tofu ground rolled oats = no. Just…no), but I finally got a winner. Especially with a soup that’s already high in protein (from the beans), I wanted the tofu in this recipe to add something special outside it’s nutritional value. And these tofu “croutons” are awesome. A crispy, flavorful outer shell and warm, soft middle that seems to soak up the soup with each bite.

Try this soup next time you’re looking to serve up a Meatless Monday dinner. It’s filling and delicious, and will satisfy even the meat lovers in your family (when my boyfriend first tried it, his first comment was “It tastes like there’s meat in here—am I eating chili?”).

Print Black Bean Soup with Tofu Croutons

Yield: 6

A vegan, Mexican-flavored soup with crispy tofu croutons.

Ingredients

• 2 cans black beans
• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 3 cups low-sodium veggie broth
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 vine ripe tomatoes, diced
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp salt
• For the croutons:
• 1 pack organic black soybean tofu plus (and firm or extra firm tofu will do!)
• ½ cup cornstarch (you won't use it all, you just want enough to roll the cubes in)
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions

1. Place tofu between paper towels on a plate. Cover with another plate and place something heavy on top (a can of beans, etc.) to add pressure so that water will drain from the tofu. Leave it there while you cook the soup.
2. Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil to a large pan and sauté onions on medium-high heat. After a couple minutes, add in the garlic and bell pepper. Sauté for an additional two minutes.
3. Add in the remaining ingredients (beans, corn, broth, tomatoes, spices), mix together, and let simmer uncovered over medium heat for 30 minutes.
4. If you want a thicker soup, take about 1/3 of the soup and run it through a blender. Pour back into the pan and stir it all together.
5. Cut tofu into ½-1” cubes. Mix the corn starch and spices together and roll the tofu in mixture. Heat a coupe tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil on high and toss in the tofu, flipping occasionally until golden and crisp (about 5 minutes).
6. Serve soup with tofu croutons on top.

3.0 http://pumpsandiron.com/2015/01/05/black-bean-soup-with-tofu-croutons/

Enjoy this soup! And before I sign off, a big thanks to Nasoya for a wonderful partnership. This is my last post in the series I did with them, and in addition to providing high-quality, organic, non-GMO tofu, their team is a pleasure to work with. It was a step outside my cooking comfort zone to work with tofu in such creative ways, and I loved every second of it!