Black Bean soup

1. Step 1
2. In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add jalapeños and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir to coat vegetables, and cook about a minute more. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder and stir to coat.
   5 minutes2 minutes
3. Step 2
4. Add black beans and broth. Stir soup, add bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer and let simmer until slightly reduced and thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. (If a thinner soup is desired, add more broth as needed.)
   15–20 minutes
5. Step 3
6. Remove bay leaf and let cool slightly. Using an immersion blender or food processor, blend soup to desired consistency.
7. Step 4
8. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, sliced avocado, and cilantro.

Cooking notes

Scaling works best when you weigh ingredients rather than measure by volume — small differences in packing can compound at higher multipliers.

For volume-to-weight conversions of any ingredient — flour, sugar, butter, salts — use the ingredient converter. To translate the recipe's oven temperature between °C, °F and gas mark, see the temperature converter.

When you scale this recipe up or down, remember that cooking time does not scale linearly. A doubled cake takes longer, but not twice as long; a doubled soup takes roughly twice as long. The cooking-time guide gives sensible starting estimates by dish geometry.