Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

This recipe originally come from Smitten Kitchen, and I've been making it for a few years, with lots of adaptations and adjustments, all to good effect.  The only trick is you really need to let it cook for a while for all the flavors to meld, otherwise is just tastes like nothing.  Also, it is not photogenic, at all.



This time I substituted Basque chorizo instead of the ham, and so added it at the beginning to crisp up a little.  I also refuse to puree the beans, because that would involve having to wash the food processor, so instead I just mash them up a bit once I add them to the pot.

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup, from Smitten Kitchen

3 links Basque chorizo, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil (if needed)
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp + 2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans (15.5 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups beef broth
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (either from a roasted pumpkin, or about 1 can)
1/2 cup dry Sherry
3-4 Tbsp Sherry vinegar (optional)
1-2 Tbsp sour cream (for serving)

In a large, heavy pot, cook chorizo until browned and it has released some of oil.  Add olive oil if needed to cook onion, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and red pepper until onion is soft and beginning to brown.  Stir if tomatoes to de-glaze the pan and scrap up any brown bits on the bottom.  Then add black beans, broth, pumpkin, and Sherry, stir until combined and simmer, uncovered for about 25 minutes or until it starts to taste like something.

Add vinegar just before serving, and you can garnish with sour cream.

Vegetarian Minestrone, minus the pasta

Still struggling to get through the produce box every two weeks, but this seems to be my go to, a big pot of soup full of veggies, greens, and beans for a little extra protein.  I made this last week for a last minute dinner party, and again, it's easy to tweak and substitute to your hearts content.  I should have planned ahead better seeing as my friends called around 6 to see what they could bring, and I realized I didn't yet know what I was making.  However, this soup comes together quickly, and with a quick salad of homemade croutons, blanched green beans, and halved grape tomatoes with lots of balsamic, it made for a nice dinner.

You could also make it a proper minestrone by adding some small pasta, either pre-cooked or raw about 10 minutes before it will be done.  For greens, I had a big bunch of huge spinach (ie not baby) and some curly kale.  I didn't bother de-ribbing the spinach, but it was definitely necessary for the kale.  

Vegetarian Minestrone, minus the pasta:

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

3 Tbs olive oil

1 large leek, white and light green parts, cleaned and sliced into half coins

4 stalks celery, washed and diced

3 carrots, washed and diced

2 Tbs salt

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 medium zucchini, washed and diced

1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)

2 cans (14 oz.) diced tomatoes

4-5 cups vegetable broth or water

3 cups chopped (and de-stemmed, if necessary) greens (i.e. collard greens, kale, chard, spinach, celery leaves, broccoli rabe, etc)

2 cans (14 oz.) white beans, drained and rinsed

3 Tbs red wine vinegar

In a large pot, add olive oil and heat on medium high. Add the chopped leeks, carrots, and celery stalks, as well as all your spices plus salt and pepper to your preference, and cook until softened, about 5-10 minutes, stirring every so often. Add the zucchini, and cook for another 5 minutes.

De-glaze the pan by adding the wine and tomatoes (with their juices) and giving the whole pot a good stir, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Then add your broth or water and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer for 5-10 minutes and then add your greens and beans. Simmer long enough to wilt the greens and re-heat the beans, about 3-5 minutes.

Taste for salt and pepper and acid.  Add the red wine vinegar (if needed) and give another good stir to incorporate.  The soup is done when all your vegetables are cooked through and the greens are wilted.

White Bean & Chorizo Soup with Greens

We've been getting a produce bin every other week for the last couple months and have had varying success getting through all the produce. We had leeks, carrots, celery, and a bunch of assorted greens sitting in the fridge, so I decided to make a big pot of soup earlier this week.

This recipe is easily adaptable, and would actually be really easy to make vegetarian by omitting the sausage and using vegetable broth. It's also super fast if you have a can of beans around as opposed to having to cook the beans yourself. I kind of borrowed from this recipe and this recipe, making adjustments for what we had in the house and for personal preference. Seeing as it was designed as a clean the fridge kind of meal, I was pleasantly surprised with how good it was, and now I've been eating it for lunch all week.

Recipe Notes: I stole the trick of adding your spices in with your onions/carrot/celery mix and letting them fry a little from Indian food, but I do it now in almost all my cooking because I think it really helps meld the flavors, even with a short cooking time. The general idea of this soup is to add the things that need some browning/the most cooking time first, then de-glaze your pot with the wine and/or diced tomatoes, before finally just wilting your greens and re-heating the precooked beans after adding your broth right at the end. Feel free to substitute up the wazoo on this recipe. I had leeks but no onions, but you could use either or shallots for that matter. I always have Basque chorizo in the house, but an italian sausage would be good too. The greens we had in the house were a bunch of collard greens, a bunch of broccoli rabe greens, and then I love the flavor of celery leaves in soups, so I threw those in with the greens at the end as well. If you're using collard greens, kale, or chard, make sure to de-rib the greens before chopping up the leaves, but you can dice up the chard stems and throw them in with the onion/carrot/celery mix at the beginning too.

White Bean & Chorizo Soup with Greens

Serves 4-6

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 leeks, white and light green parts, rinsed and cut into half-coins

2 carrots, rinsed and cut into half coins

4 celery stalks, rinsed and chopped

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

salt & pepper

2 chorizo sausages, cut into coins (optional)

1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)

1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes

4-5 cups broth or water

3 cups chopped greens (i.e. collard greens, kale, chard, spinach, celery leaves, broccoli rabe, etc)

1 can (14 oz.) white beans, drained and rinsed

In a large pot, add olive oil and heat on medium high. Add the chopped leeks, carrots, and celery stalks, as well as all your spices plus salt and pepper to your preference, and cook until softened, about 5-10 minutes, stirring every so often. Add your sausage (if using), and cook for another 5 minutes or until your sausage is cooked through.

De-glaze the pan by adding the wine and tomatoes (with their juices) and giving the whole pot a good stir, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Then add your broth or water and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer for 5-10 minutes and then add your greens and beans. Simmer long enough to wilt the greens and re-heat the beans, about 3-5 minutes.

Taste for salt and pepper and acid. (A couple of tablespoons of vinegar added at the end can really zhush up a soup if you feel the flavor is lacking - I would have used red wine vinegar here, but forgot to.) The soup is done when all your vegetables are cooked through and the greens are wilted.