Soup's On!

You know those ginormous, firelog-sized burritos that are delicious staples of any taqueria in San Francisco's Mission District? Well - those oversized burritos are the inspiration for this soup. I love - underscore love - the burritos, and figured that the flavors would undoubtedly make for a great soup on a cold winter day. Sure enough - this is one soup that will get put in rotation at my house! This recipe is a vegetarian version; you certainly could add chicken, steak or pork to bump up the protein quotient, but it's more than satisfying without.

Black Bean Burrito Soup

• 6 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
• 1 cup orange juice, no pulp
• 2 15-ouce cans of black beans, drained
• 1 cup long-grained rice (not instant)
• 1 7-ounce can of diced greed chilies (or equivalent of fresh, fire-roasted green chilies)
• 2-3 chipotle peppers; more if you like it spicy! (Buy chipotle peppers in the can from the Mexican section of the supermarket; the peppers come in a chipotle sauce, which is crucial to the flavor of this soup.)
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes, diced (or 1 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes)
• Kosher salt, to taste

Toppings:

• Tortilla chips, crumbled
• Cilantro, chopped
• Shredded cheese
• Sour cream (or I like plain Greek yogurt instead)

Combine 4 cups of stock, orange juice, black beans, rice, green chilies and chipotle peppers in a stock pot; bring to a simmer. Cook until rice becomes tender and absorbes the liquid by half, about 25-30 minutes. Add remaining two cups of stock along with the diced tomatoes; return to a fast simmer and reduce until desired soup consistency (rice will continue to absorb liquid and thicken the soup). Serve with your choice of toppings.