30-Minute Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 green bell peppers, stems and seeds discarded, finely diced
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced on a microplane grater
• 1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, stems and seeds discarded, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
• 1 chipotle chili packed in adobo, finely chopped, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from can (optional)
• 1 quart homemade or low-sodium canned chicken broth
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 bay leaves
• kosher salt
• to serve (all optional):
• roughly chopped cilantro leaves
• mexican-style sour cream
• diced avocado
• diced red onion