Spicy Black Bean Soup with Limed-Up Shrimp

My brother experimented with this recipe first, and had been raving about it ever since. It's from Rachael Ray's Express Lane Cookbook. This is a very satisfying soup that has a bit of a kick to it (before the added hot sauce even!). The marinade for the shrimp is also awesome, and can be a meal itself if you just want the shrimp.

4 servings

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Zest and juice of 2 limes
1/4 c. fresh flat-leaf parsley
16 jumbo shrimp, peeled, de-veined, and butterflied
2 14 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
5 c. chicken stock
1/2 c. heavy cream (optional)
hot sauce (optional)

1. Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 Tbsp of the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the onions, three fourths of the garlic, the chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the onions are tender, stirring frequently.
2. While the onions are cooking, combine the remaining garlic, 3 Tbsp of olive oil, the red pepper flakes, lime zest, parsley, and a little salt in a shallow bowl. Add the shrimp and coat them thoroughly. Let the shrimp sit while you move forward with the soup.
3. Add the black beans to the onions. With a potato masher, smash about half of the beans (the mashed-up beans with thicken the soup). Add the fire-roasted tomatoes, chicken stock, and heavy cream (if using). Stir and bring the soup up to a bubble. Once at a bubble, turn the heat down to a simmer and let it cook for 10-12 minutes. Stir the pot every not and then to make sure it isn't sticking.
4. While the soup is simmering, cook the shrimp in a large skillet over medium heat. Flip the shrimp after 2 to 3 minutes and add the lime juice. Continue to cook them for 2 to 3 more minutes or until the shrimp are opaque.
5. Taste the soup and adjust the seasonings with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. To serve, place a few ladles full of the spice black bean soup in shallow soup bowls, and arrange 4 shrimp standing up in the center of each bowl.

For those of you who are super detail-oriented, yes that is 5 shrimp in the above picture, but that's just because I love shrimp :-D
Enjoy!