Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons unrefined cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 carrots diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 ½ cups diced green cabbage
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- a pinch or more of cayenne or to taste optional
- 4 ½ cups cooked black beans or 3 15-ounce cans drained and rinsed (click here for how to cook beans from scratch)
- ½ cup cilantro leaves and stems chopped
- 1 ¾ cups pumpkin puree or 1 15-ounce can not pumpkin pie filling (click here for how to make pumpkin puree from scratch)
- 2-3 teaspoons sea salt or to taste
- a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ½ cups vegetable stock chicken stock or water
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until tender and translucent, about 6 minutes.
- Add the carrots, celery, cabbage, cumin, oregano and cayenne* and toss to coat with the oil, onions and garlic. Sauté for a couple minutes or until the vegetables no longer look raw.
- Add the beans, cilantro, pumpkin puree, salt and pepper and stock. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook partially covered until the vegetables are tender, about 18-20 minutes. Taste for seasoning.
Notes
I have made this soup several different ways. If you want a little more heat, you can sauté a diced jalapeno pepper (do this in Step 1) and/or add a teaspoon of ground chipotle pepper (add this with the other spices.) If you want a little smokiness without the heat, add a teaspoon of smoked paprika with the other spices. You can also puree part of the soup for a thicker consistency. Lots of options!