'Sopa Negra' Recipes and Food  

Sopa Negra

Mario from in the desert -

Has anyone tried sopa negra? I know it is black beans and poached eggs, but as an American I have never tried it. I was wondering if it is really good. I have a neice that is doing a project on Costa Rica and she has to bring a food, but she doesn't want to gross her class out. This is supposed to be one of the most common dishes of Costa Rica.

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Comment #1 Old Grump from San Jose -

Rice and Beans (very bland... needs salt and other spices) is the most common food in Costa Rica.

I don't recall Sopa Negra having a poached egg.

Comment #2 Roxy from Heaven -

So is sopa negra good? I didn't think it had rice in it. I just thought it was a black bean soup.

Comment #3 sandy from baytown, tx -

I just searched and you are right Roxy, it is black bean soup. But it does have eggs! Here's the recipe:

Sopa Negra Recipe (Black Bean Soup Costa Rican Style)

1 lb (450 gr.) Black beans. Fresh are best but most likely you’ll find them dried.

8 cups (700 ml) chicken broth or water or a mix

˝ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt

1 Tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil

salt and black pepper to taste

6 eggs

Finely chop

10-12 sprigs cilantro (coriander leaf) fresh or frozen, not dried!

1 small or medium onion

2 cloves garlic

1 small green, red, or yellow sweet pepper

If beans are dried, cover with water and soak overnight, if they are fresh, just rise them off. Drain the beans and add water or chicken broth, salt, and half of the chopped ingredients. bring to a boil. Cover the pan and reduce heat to very low simmer until beans are nearly soft (~ 2˝ hours). Add the rest of the chopped ingredients, and vegetable oil, and cook an additional ˝ hour. Add eggs for the final 2-4 minutes (depending on how you like your eggs cooked). Remove about half the beans and reserve for gallo pinto or to mash and refry (you can leave all the beans in but typically some are removed).

Remove the eggs, peel and place one or two in each bowl before serving with warm corn tortillas.

Comment #4 Mario from in the desert -

Ok, makes me feel better that I am not losing it. I thought I saw somewhere that it has egg in it. I guess there are just different varieties of Sopa Negra.

Comment #5 sandy from baytown, tx -

Haha, yeah it does have eggs. I never heard of eggs being in black bean soup though. I wonder how good it is. I'll have to make this someday!

Comment #6 William A Sing from Key West,, Florida -

Sopa Negra, I remember as a kid in the 50's, is for a healthy but cheap meal, the best part was the eggs. I do remember that Sopa Negra must be eaten with fresh Costa Rica tortillas, different from Mexico's tortillas, Costa Rica's are heavier/thicker. Once in a while, still cook Sopa negra, but no C.R. tortillas with it. My mother used to tell me that Sopa Negra is like drinking blood, sometimes she would add Platanos Negros (green plantains), and the combination would make you sweat.

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