Black Bean Soup

This is soup number two on my quest to quench my desire to use black beans. It's not that I'm hooked on the flavor of black beans as much as the recipes intrigue me. This was a good soup, still not as thick as I would have expected. I made it while recovering from an extracted, impacted wisdom tooth, so I appreciated something I could slurp without opening wide.
Black Bean Soup
1 cup dried black beans
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
14 oz. vegetable broth
4 oz. chopped green chiles, drained
1/8 tsp. salt

Sort, and wash beans. Cover with 2 inches water, and bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes, and then remove from heat. Cover, and let stand 1 hour. Drain beans.

Heat the olive oil, and add onion and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes or until tender. Add beans, water, oregano, cayenne, cumin, broth and chiles. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours until beans are tender.

Use a food processor or blender to puree the mixture until smooth. Stir in salt.

Serve soup garnished with shredded cheese, sour cream or other yummy garnish.