Sausage And Bean Soup With Plantains

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb dried navy beans or 1 lb great northern bean
• 1 cup water
• 1 lb sweet sausage, rolled into small balls
• 3 slices bacon
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 lemon (grated rind and 1 tablespoon. juice )
• 2 -3 bananas, ripe but firm, peeled and sliced (or 2 ripe plantains)

Recipe

• 1 place beans in a soup pot. cover with water, add salt, and boil for 5 minutes. remove from heat, cover, and let stand for at least an hour.
• 2 in a skillet cook bacon until crisp. remove bacon, pat dry on paper towls, and add to beans.
• 3 brown sausage balls in bacon fat and add to beans.
• 4 cook onion and garlic in remaining fat until translucent. add to beans.
• 5 cover beans mixture and simmer for one hour or until beans are tender.
• 6 add the remaining ingredients except the bananas, cover, and simmer for 30 more minutes.
• 7 add bananas just long enough to warm through but not get mushy. if you're using plantains, you should add those in with the spices and tomato paste to cook through.