Last weekend at the grocery store, a 1 lb. bag of dried black beans caught my eye. It had black bean soup written all over it. But this bag of black beans was made for more than just your typical run-of-the-mill black bean soup, Brad put our heads together and came up with something much more interesting.
Pumpkin Black Bean Soup
1 lb. dried black beans
8 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 chopped red bell pepper
1/2 chopped yellow onion
scant 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. cinnamon (yes, cinnamon!)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
Allow black beans, onions, and red peppers to cook on low in a crock pot with broth for 8-10 hours. Add pumpkin and puree with immersion blender or by transferring soup a little at a time to a food processor. Add herbs and spices, mixing well.
I highly suggest topping with spicy roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds).
Simply toss a few pepitas in a small bowl or ramekin. Add a smidgen of olive oil (I sprayed with the Misto) and a sprinkle of cayenne and cumin. Microwave for 30 second increments until pepitas are roasted but not brown. Mine took one minute total.
I served with a side of spicy grilled squash, spiced up with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Brad’s verdict was that this soup was amazing and I thought it was incredibly delicious. Plus, it’s so super healthy. I love the creaminess and the interesting flavor combinations. Who would have thought cinnamon would be so good with black beans? Now, I know.
Just when you thought I couldn’t possibly make one more thing with pumpkin, I proved that I could. Muah huah huah huah.