Black Bean Soup

From Babble blog:

Vegan Black Bean Soup

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 large purple onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 16 oz package dried black beans (or 2 cups)
1 Tbsp. chipotle chiles en adobo (optional – it gives a nice smoky taste, but you could sub chili powder)
7 cups hot water
juice of a lime
1-2 tsp. coarse sea salt (it seems like a lot, but it needs it)
sour cream/yogurt (or vegan sour cream/yogurt) for serving, if you like

Heat a drizzle of oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery and pepper and sauté until soft and starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook for another minute. Transfer mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add beans, chipotle chiles and water; cover and cook on low heat for about 5 hours (this will vary – hers took 3).

Add the salt and lime juice and stir well (you don’t want to cook the beans with the salt – they tend to get grainy that way) – scoop out about half of the soup and transfer to a blender; puree until smooth. (Alternatively, stick in a hand-held immersion blender and puree a bit right in the slow cooker.) You want it to be half smooth, half chunky. Serve hot, or cool down and refrigerate for a day or two to allow the flavors to improve, then reheat. Serve topped with sour cream, if you like. Makes lots-6-10 servings, depending on appetites.