Black Bean Soup

• 2 medium carrots
• 1 leek
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1 cob white corn
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4oz smoked bacon
• 2 15oz cans black beans
• 1 4oz can hatch chilis
• 1 tablespoon Hatch chili powder
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth.
• 1 small anchovy

1. If you live close to a Trader Joe's then its is a one stop shop for all the above. The hatch chili powder I get here http://www.madeinnewmexico.com/hatchchilepowder.html you can get by with paprika and chili powder in its place, but I can't recommend this enough.
2. Take the leeks, carrots & onion and slice and dice them. Mince the garlic and put to one side. Slice the corn from the cob and also save that for later.
3. Take the bacon and chop it up into small 1/4 inch cubes. Sautee this in a decent size soup pot till the fat melts and the bacon is starting to crisp. Using a slotted spoon or otherwise take the bacon out and leave the fat in the pot.
4. Add the carrot leek and onion to the fat and sautee until soft and starting to brown, about 1-10 mins. Add the garlic and chili powder and cook till the garlic flavor starts to come through.
5. Drain the two cans of black beans and toss these in with the small can of chilis, chicken broth and corn. Add the anchovy; this is a trick I learned from Cooks illustrated and is the secret key to savory soups and stews. Anchovies are full of natural glutamate, like the msg in chinese food, adding an anchovy to a soup or stew like this dramatically accentuates the depth of flavor and enhances the savory aspect. Tell no one and they will never notice any anchovy flavor, just deep rich soup. Do the same in a lamb stew for the same kind of effect.
6. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 25-30 mins. At this stage spoon out about a 1/2 a bowl of the beans, corn and onion and take a hand blender to the rest. Return the separated bean mix and add season to taste. Adding the salt at this stage is best as the anchovy and bacon can be salty and adding it now when the flavor is developed will stop the soup from being overly salty.
7. Cook for a further 10 or 15 minutes then serve. Eat bowl after bowl till its all gone. If you manage to have leftovers I've heard reheats perfectly. Enjoy

carrots, leek, onion, corn, garlic, bacon, black beans, hatch chilis, hatch chili powder, chicken broth, anchovy

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/black-bean-soup-51852411 (may not work)