Black Bean Soup

Like most beans, black beans are best when cooked with something smoked. This recipe uses both bacon and a ham bone or ham hocks, as well as sherry, to give it a rich, smoky flavor.

Give yourself a lot of time to cook this soup; black beans take longer to cook than most—at least 2 hours and sometimes as long as 4.

Some people like black bean soup to be almost solid, with the consistency of chili, while others like a thinner, more souplike puree. This depends on how much brot