Monday, 21 January 2008

• Spicy Pumpkin Bean Soup

  I must tell you, it’s cold here in Maine right now.  The temps this week have struggled to get out of the ‘teens during even the “warmest” part of the day.  Cold weather like this always triggers my hibernation instinct—in other words, my mind dwells almost exclusively on what to eat and when to crawl back into my nice, warm bed!

  This week’s post is about soup.  Strictly speaking, I’m not a soup person.  I generally don’t choose soups over other types of dishes, and I don’t have a good reason for that.  It’s just one of those things about me.  However, cold weather makes me ruffle through my cookbook pages, searching for chilis, soups, and stews.  On a cold day I really love a steaming bowl of something flavorful and spicy to warm me up.

  I found this recipe on my seemingly never-ending search for “low points” entrees.  Oh yeah, I’m on Weight Watchers.  As “on” as a person who loves carbs and hates vegetables can be, I guess.  But, I’m trying…because I want to be healthier than my pizza and whoopie pie fueled physique (hibernation instinct, remember?) currently is.  I’ve seen several different versions of this soup, and of course I’ve added my own tweaks, so the recipe below is something of a mishmash.  The original recipe I started with can be found here.

  
  This soup is absolutely delicious!  The pumpkin adds a silky richness, without tasty overwhelmingly "pumpkiny" (which, I have to be honest, I was a little afraid of).  A little dollop of cool sour cream nicely cuts through the heat of the curry paste.  I have to say, I am surprised at how good this soup is, considering it is also so very good for you.  I will be adding this recipe to the dinner rotation for sure.
  

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  Spicy Pumpkin Bean Soup

  1 TBS oil (I use Canola)

  ½ a medium-sized onion, coarsely chopped

  3 garlic cloves, finely minced

  1 tsp cumin

  1 tsp red curry paste

  1 cup of pureed pumpkin (I used Libby’s canned pumpkin, NOT PUMPKIN PIE FILLING!)

  ½ tsp dried thyme

  ½ tsp salt

  ¼ tsp black pepper

  ½ tsp sugar

  1 14-oz. can chicken broth

  ¼ cup water

  1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes with their juices

  1 15-oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed

  1 15-oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

  Sour cream, for garnish (optional)

  Over medium heat, heat oil in a large pot until just shimmering.  Add onion and garlic and cook 4-5 minutes, being careful not to let the garlic brown.  Add the cumin and the curry paste, cook another minute until fragrant and sizzly. 

  Stir in the pumpkin, dried thyme, salt, pepper, sugar, chicken broth, and water.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, and both types of beans.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand 3 minutes.

  Taste for seasonings and add salt or pepper, if necessary.  Ladle into bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream, if using.  Serve with a warm, crusty roll on the side for sopping up the broth!

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  Notes:  You can use pretty much any type of canned beans.  I just happened to have these two in my cupboard.  I will try this again, using pinto beans or Great Northern Beans, just for some interesting color.  Also, this would be AMAZING with a couple handfuls of frozen sweet corn kernels tossed in just before simmering.  I have a bit of a habit of adding frozen corn to anything with cumin in it…they just go so darn well together!  The only reason I didn’t tonight was that, well, I didn’t have any in the freezer!

  You can chop your onions as coarse or fine as you like.  I chop mine very coarse ( ½ to ¾ inch chunks) because I don’t like onions, and I want the pieces big enough for me to scoop out of my bowl before I eat.  Don’t get me wrong—I love the flavor of onions, and I fully respect their culinary prowess.  I just can’t deal with the half-slimy, half-crunchy texture of a cooked hunk of onion.  So I fish mine out and give them to my husband, who loves all things oniony.

  As I have said before on other curry-related posts, the measurements for curry paste are always flexible.  It can be very spicy, so start with a small amount and add more until it’s as hot as you like it.

  Leftover soup can be refrigerated for a couple of days (I’d say no more than three, just to be safe), or frozen for a month or so.  When you reheat it, you may need to add a few spoonfuls of water or chicken broth to loosen it up again.

  
  

  

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