Black Bean Soup

==Ingredients==
* ½ cup unsalted butter
* ½ cup diced carrots
* ½ cup diced onions
* ½ cup diced celery
* 1 cup broccoli stems, peeled and diced
* 2 teaspoons dried thyme
* 2 teaspoons dried oregano
* 1 teaspoon dried sweet basil leaves
* ¼ cup dry white wine
* 4 cups chicken stock, hot
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* ½ teaspoon tabasco sauce (i like cholula)
* 1 cup diced smoked chicken
* 1 cup cooked black beans
* 1 cup broccoli florets
* 2 cups heavy cream
* salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with a small amount of warm water (optional)
==Directions==
# In ¼ cup butter, saute carrots, onion, celery and broccoli stems for 5 minutes.
# Add thyme, oregano and basil; saute 5 minutes more.
# Add wine and deglaze pan.
# Add hot chicken stock and reduce by one-third.
# Add Worcestershire sauce, tabasco, smoked chicken, beans and broccoli florets; simmer 5 minutes.
# Add cream, simmer 5 minutes more and season to taste (thicken with cornstarch if desired).
# Drop in remaining butter, piece by piece, stirring until melted and serve immediately.
=== Smoked chicken ===
# On a covered grill, slightly smoke boneless chicken, cooking to medium rare (about 30 minutes).
# Chef Meskan uses applewood chips and does not allow the grill to become too hot.
Category:Basil Recipes
Category:Black bean Recipes
Category:Broccoli Recipes
Category:Californian Soups
Category:Carrot Recipes
Category:Celery Recipes
Category:Chicken Recipes
Category:Chicken stock and broth Recipes
Category:Heavy cream Recipes
Category:Onion Recipes