The only thing hard about this hearty, exotic and feast friendly soup is explaining how easy it is to make.

It’s really easy… like, my-ten-year-old-son-could-make-it, easy. Not that you’d discern that from the complex flavors it somehow manages to pull from just a few pantry ingredients.

I particularly love this dish in the summertime when there are copious hanks of fresh cilantro to toss on top of it, but because it is pantry heavy, it’s a great choice for the dead of winter, too.

Either way, it’ll have you humming a little island tune as you serve it with a sly smile and say, “Why, this little old delicious, decadent, super healthy soup? I just tossed it together last minute!”

OMG Spicy Pineapple and Black Bean Soup

Serves a crowd

• 1 t/l peanut oil or other neutral oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 stalks celery, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 jalapeño, minced

*Tip: to make quick work of the veggies, just toss in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.

• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1 tbl veggie bouillon
• I large can chopped tomatoes with juice
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans chunk pineapple in natural juice (you may use one fresh pineapple chopped if available)
• 1/4 cup water
• sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• lime wedges and fresh cilantro to garnish

Saute all veggies in hot oil with a dash of salt until soft, 5-7 minutes. Add all spices, sauté one more minute until fragrant. Add tomatoes, beans, pineapple, water and bouillon, bring up to boil. Lower to simmer and cook 15 minutes. Serve topped with generous piles of cilantro and lime wedges.

*Bonus recipe! 

Peach Basil Nutmeg Smoothie

Serves 1

I am including this because I happened to be drinking it as I typed out the above recipe and really feel it would be criminal to keep it to myself. It’s just one of this magic combinations—especially with a nice fresh peach from the farmer’s market.

• 1 small banana or 1/2 a large one
• 1 perfectly ripe largish peach, pitted
• 5 fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 large kale leaf or two or three small ones
• 11 raw almonds
• 1 cup water
• 3 ice cubes

Toss all ingredients in a high powered blender such as a Vitamix and blend until smooth. To get fancy, garnish with a basil leaf and another sprinkle of nutmeg on top.

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Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: stu_spivack at Flickr