Corn Chowder with Black Beans

I've combined one of Johan's favorites (corn chowder) with one of my favorites (black bean and corn salad). It was delicious!

1 ham steak, cubed
8 cups water

1 small onion

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups corn (I used frozen, home-grown corn)

1 x 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 red pepper, seeded and diced

1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried parsley
2 large cloves of garlic, minced

I tossed the meat into the pot with maybe a tablespoon of olive oil and I let it brown a bit. I added the water and let it simmer for an hour.

I took most of the meat out, and put the onion in, and let it simmer a while longer. Maybe half an hour?

I put the corn and potatoes in and cooked them till they were soft. I used my hand blender to mash it all up.

I put the meat back in, added the black beans and red pepper. I didn't blend these because I wanted the chunks of color in the soup and the texture. I added the seasonings and garlic, let it cook for another 15 minutes and it was ready to serve.

Notes:
The original recipe I use for corn chowder uses evaporated milk or cream, but I thought it didn't need the extra richness. I put cream on the table for the kids to cool their soup but I was fine without it.

I served the soup with toast. Biscuits would have been good, but I didn't have the time.

The black bean salad I make calls for cilantro. I'm not a huge fan, but if you'd want to take another step towards copying the salad, you could try adding it to the soup.