A very refined and flavorful starter-weight (thinnish) soup can be made after your beans and aromatics have cooked. Drain the beans over a large saucepan to save the cooking liquid, then add just a couple of big spoonfuls of the cooked beans to the liquid, reheat, puree with an immersion blender, adjust the thickness by blending in a little water or more beans, if needed, and add a splash of sweet Spanish sherry and a pinch each of ground cumin and cayenne.