Beef and Black Bean Soup

Sometimes, when I'm looking for inspiration, a trip to the supermarket helps.  This soup is a case in point. Mrs Soup wanted something for lunch at work and so headed to the chiller isle at our local supermarket, where we were confronted by a bewildering array of ready to eat soups.

One of them caught my eye as being a bit more interesting than the rest, so I decided that rather than buy a tub to bung in the microwave, I'd have a go at coming up with my own variation on the soup in question.  And here it  is - Beef and Black Bean Soup

Despite seeing it in the fridge at the supermarket, however, I forgot exactly which beans were needed, and for some reason I got Black Beans mixed up with Black-Eyes Beans (you can see how my poor addled brain could make such a mistake, can't you?) but I'm not sure it really would have mattered either way.  But you may think otherwise...

Also, now having made this soup, I'm intrigued to purchase the stuff I first saw and see how it stands up, but I'm betting it in now way comes close to this fresh and spicy little number.  If you have tried it yourself, maybe you could let me know how this recipe stands up?

Ingredients
250g Mince Beef
400g Tinned Tomatoes
400g Black Beans(Drained)
2 Onions
1 Carrot (Diced)
2 Celery Stalks (Finely chopped)
2 Garlic Cloves
1tsp Parpika
1tsp Chilli Powder
1tsp Cumin
1tsp Oregano
1.5l Beef Stock
1 Lime (Juice)
Handful of Fresh Corriander


Method

In a large pan, fry off the minced beef in a bit of oil until it browns and breaks down into small chunks.  Then remove the meat and in the same pan, fry off the onions until they start to colour - add some more oil if the pan gets dry.

Once the onions are browning slightly, add the mean back to the pan and then the tomatoes and stock.  Bring the pan to the boil and then add the rest of the ingredients.

Cover the pan and simmer the soup for 2 hours, then season to taste and serve.  Enjoy!