I had so much fun with this soup. I have made traditional black bean soup a few times but with Autumn arriving with force this year I was in the mood to do something pumpkin. I live in a fairly small town but am usually impressed with the produce and food selection at our local grocery store. I do have a Whole Foods that isn’t too far away (about 30 miles) but it was rainy and foggy, and there was no way I was driving over the mountain. That being said – my store had everything I wanted except dried black beans! They had every other kind of bean…but black. So I had to go with canned. Which I wasn’t very happy about. I have been experimenting lately with dried beans and was excited to try black. Oh well, next time.
Anyhow, I reluctantly opened my black beans and rinsed them really well, to get all the extra grime off of them. So the soup…
I sauteed my veggies, onion, orange pepper (because that’s what I had – green or red would be great here too for color) and celery in a little olive oil. I let them get a little brown on them once they were soft to add some flavor. Then I added the pumpkin and homemade stock. I also added my spices, cider, apple cider vinegar, and a little salt and pepper. I let is come to a boil then turned it down to simmer for about an hour. Then I scooped about 2 ladles full of soup into my immersion blender cup. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, I highly recommend it. I use mine ALL THE TIME!) I repeated the ladle step once more so the soup is a good blend of the pureed bean mixture and whole veggies and beans. Its made a great combo. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves before pureeing.
I really hope you enjoy this as much as we did. Even the 4 year old cleaned her bowl!
Enjoy!
Local Ingredient: Pumpkin (bought from a local farm stand).
Veggies ready for the black bean soup
Saute Veggies Until Tender
Add all ingredients and simmer
Puree 3/4 of the soup and return to the pot
Simmer for a few to combine the flavors
Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 Cup pumpkin puree - homemade is best. If using canned, organic is best
3 Cups or 30 oz black beans
1 onion - diced½ - orange bell pepper - diced
2 celery stalks - chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
2 bay leaves
1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg - use a micro-plane to grate it directly into the soup (about 10-12 passed on the micro-plane)
3 oz fresh apple cider
1 cup chicken broth (homemade if possible to reduce sodium and additives.)
2 sprigs of rosemary - chopped - about 1 ½ tablespoons
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped. Fresh is best but dried will work here too.
Instructions
- Heat a little cooking oil in a stock or soup pot. Add onion, celery, and peppers.
- Saute until soft then allow them to get a little caramelization.
- Add the pumpkin puree, black beans, and chicken broth, stir to combine well.
- Add the cider and apple cider vinegar. Don't skip these, they add a lot to the soup.
- Add the fresh herbs then the other spices and stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil and then turn to low to simmer and cover.
- Allow to simmer at least an hour.
- Remove the bay leaves. Using an immersion blender or counter top blender ladle about 2/3 of the soup into another vessel and blend until relatively smooth but still have some veggies and beans throughout.
- Add blended mixture back to stock pot and stir.
- Garnish and serve hot.
Please comment below and let us know what you think!
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