Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

Now that the nights are chilly and the autumn harvest is coming in, we thought we'd give you a heartier, warming soup to try. As with all soups, the quantities shown for ingredients are not written in stone. You can adjust them based on what's in your (or you neighbor's) garden, or what you like. Feel free to substitute other peppers of your choice for ours. Use any hard squash. Butternut is one of the sweetest and most easily found. Have fun with your food and use this as a guide line for a tasty combination of flavors.

1 med. onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 lg. carrot, peeled and chopped

1 med. ancho chile, seeded and diced

1 sm. jalapeno, seeded and diced, optional

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

4 cups vegetable stock

1 15oz. can pumpkin puree (feel free to make your own, but we can't tell the difference!)

1 15oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed

2 cups tomatoes, peeled seeded and chopped ( or a 15oz. can of diced)

2 tbs. agave nectar (or brown sugar or honey) optional if watching sugar

1 Tbs. oil

salt and pepper

Get out your big soup pot and heat the oil a little. Stir the onion, celery and carrot and a little salt til the onion gets translucent. Add in the chiles and garlic and stir some more. Don't let anything brown! Pour in the stock, add the squash and the black beans, reduce the heat to medium and let everything simmer for about 20 minutes. Add everything else, including as much freshly ground pepper as you like and another teaspoon or so of salt. Stir thouroughly but gently to completely blend in the pumpkin. Continue simmering until everything is cooked through but still recognizable. Taste for seasoning and adjust as desired.

We don't put any in, but this soup would be good with a bit of allspice and/or cumin if you like those flavors.

Serves 4 as a main dish. 

Josie Duennes

I'm the food service manager at Nature's Bin, the mother of 2 grown sons and happily married for over 30 years.

Read More on Wellness Watch
Volume 8, Issue 20, Posted 8:58 PM, 10.02.2012