Recipe: Bean Porridge (Veganizable)

I know this doesn't look like much but it's remarkably good tasting!

BEAN PORRIDGE

Serves 6 to 8

1 pint black beans, washed, soaked overnight in water to cover, drained, rinsed

2 Tbsp chopped onion

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 tsp salt

2 whole cloves

2 quarts cold water or soup stock (the latter preferably homemade—see recipes in Basics section)

1 hard-cooked egg yolk

1/8 tsp pepper

½ tsp dry mustard

1 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp fat

1 tsp sherry

Combine drained soaked beans, onion, celery, salt, and cloves with water or stock, and boil slowly until beans are soft. Rub beans and vegetables through a strained, and combine with sufficient cooking liquid to make “the consistency of thick cream.” Mash egg yolk with pepper and mustard, and stir into soup. Cook flour in melted fat to a golden brown roux, thin with a little of the bean cooking liquid, and stir into soup. Cook 5 minutes, thinning with additional bean cooking liquid if necessary. Add sherry and serve.