Black Bean Soup

This recipe promised to be similar to Panera Bread's Black Bean Soup, but it wasn't. The taste was lacking something... yet when I searched the internet, it seemed no one could exactly decipher the exact Panera recipe. Perhaps I'll attempt another copy cat Black Bean in the future!

Note: I used chicken broth instead of bouillon cubes and a orange pepper instead of red. I also had to double the cornstarch to get the soup to the desired thickness.. it just didn't seem to thicken at all with the called for amount.

• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic gloves, minced
• 1/4 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 small chicken bouillon cubes
• 1-1 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, undrained
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 lemon, juice of
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Combine first 6 ingredients, simmer for 10 minutes
2. Add half a can of beans, salt and cumin; cook for 5 minutes
3. Puree soup (I used a blender)
4. Add the rest of the beans to the soup
5. Combine cornstarch with 1 1/2 tablespoons water
6. Add lemon juice and cornstarch tot he soup; cook until thickened