Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

It is that time of the year again- cleopatras, darth vaders, draculas, and even a few Gaddafis, roam the streets.  Skeletons hang in windows.  Parents raid candy stores.  Pumpkins, in all forms, await trick or treaters, with creepy smiles.

Halloween has hit in full force.  On Saturday, despite the snowstorm, with gusty winds and and pelting hail, the subways were crammed with party goers determined to make the most of Halloween night.

Preparations had started weeks in advance.  Walking around Manhattan, every neighborhood, had its own array of pumpkins, creatively displayed, sitting outside their doorsteps.  Having seen so many of them around, and in anticipation of the miserable weather on Saturday, I was inspired to make a hearty pumpkin soup.  When I stumbled into the apartment late last night - shivering, soaked to the bone, unable to feel my fingers, the soup followed by some hot chocolate, soon had me feeling warm and revived.

Rather than making a conventional pumpkin soup, which can sometimes be a bit bland, I opted to for a version I had found on one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen (www.smittenkitchen.com).  Its a black bean pumpkin soup where the beans are pureed with some tomatoes, to which pumpkin puree is added, and then simmers in beef broth for about half an hour.  You can garnish it with some pumpkins seeds at the end.  I didn't have any so I used toasted pine nuts which gave it a great nutty flavor.  The soup, with some bread on the side, can make for a really hearty meal on its own.

I know its a big jump to go from the shrimp potato light lunch, of my last post, to a heavy, but delicious, winter soup, but my cooking is just mirroring the weather; a few days ago it was fall weather with a pleasant briskness, and overnight the temperatures dropped about 10 degrees.  Sadly, it seems NY has forgotten the autumn season, even the leaves are confused; green, on the verge of orange, and now, before they've had a chance to turn, the first snowfall has pummeled them.

Anyway, I think this bodes for a long cold winter ahead, so there are probably a few more soup recipes on the horizon.  Fresh homemade soups are always a good staple in cold weather; they're fuss free dishes, take half an hour to make, and warm you up from the inside on those brutally cold days.

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup Recipe (Slightly modified)
Gourmet, November 1996

(serves 4)

Ingredients

One 16 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup drained canned tomatoes, chopped
1 chopped onion
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
4 cups beef broth
24-ounce can pumpkin puree (about 1 1/2 cans))

Garnish: sour cream and coarsely chopped lightly toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions

In a food processor coarsely puree beans and tomatoes.

Cook onion, , garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper in olive oil over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened and beginning to brown. Stir in bean puree. Stir in broth and pumpkin, until combined and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes, or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Season soup with salt and pepper.

Serve soup garnished with sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds.