Winter Soup

I consider soup to be the highest ROI food you can cook: it's filling and healthy, with a high tolerance for cooking errors. I'd been looking for a while for a black bean soup because they are so high in iron and once again, Cook's Illustrated had the answers.

I was unfamiliar with some of their techniques: they don't pre-soak the beans, but cook them with the ham steak for 1.5 hours, with the vegetables sauteed in another pot. I'm not crazy about having to wash multiple pots, but this was worth it. I substituted a smoked pork chop made with Berkshire pigs for the ham steak - it seemed like it would have more flavor. Combined with the cumin in the main recipe, it gave the soup a delightful smoky flavor, just perfect for a cold winter's night.