Costa Rican black bean soup is a delicious and nutritious dish, even famous chef Jamie Oliver agrees, apparently, the gastronomy connoisseur tried this dish while in a trip to the country and now is teaching others to prepare it, with of course his own twist.

Known in Costa Rica as “Sopa Negra” (black soup), there are many different ways to prepare it, after all is a family recipe and therefore each family has ways of personalizing the dish; rice and beans are part of the everyday Costa Rican nutrition, affordable, easy, highly nutritious and exquisite, check out this recipe and venture to make adjustments to it according to your preferences.

Personally, I prefer to prepare the beans at home instead of buying them canned; another variation is to place part of the preparation in the blender to give it more of a creamy texture. Others like adding cheese instead of the salsa or even sour cream.

This dish is perfect for supper and it’s a great way to get kids to eat beans.

Here’s the recipe as shown by Jamie Oliver:

3 red onions
2 cloves of garlic
2 sticks of celery
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
2 fresh red chillies
½ a bunch of fresh coriander
olive oil
½ a bunch of fresh thyme
2 x 400 g tins of black beans
2 fresh bay leaves
4 large free-range eggs
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
4 corn tortillas

1. Peel and finely chop the onions and garlic, then trim and finely slice the celery. Deseed and finely chop the peppers and chillies. Pick the coriander leaves, then finely chop the stalks.
2. Drizzle a lug of olive oil in a large saucepan and place over a medium-low heat. Add two-thirds of the chopped onion, garlic, celery, coriander stalks and peppers to the pan, then pick in the thyme leaves.
3. Add half of the chilli and gently sauté the veggies for 15 minutes, or until softened but not coloured.
4. Tip in both tins of black beans with their liquid, followed by the bay leaves and 400ml of boiling water. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil.
5. Season, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until thickened and creamy. If it reduces too much, add a splash more water.
6. Next, crack the eggs directly into the soup and reduce the heat slightly. Leave the eggs to poach in the soup for 5 minutes, or until the whites are cooked but the yolk is still a bit runny.
7. While they’re poaching, make a salsa. Finely chop the coriander leaves and add to a bowl with the remaining chopped onion, the red wine vinegar and a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Mix well.
8. When you’re ready to serve the soup, warm your tortillas directly over an open flame or on a hot griddle pan.
9. Serve them alongside the black bean soup and salsa, and finish each bowl with a drizzle of the chilli coriander oil.