Uploaded March 2022 | Updated September 2026, 21 hours ago
As we have mentioned before, beans and squash are two of the Three Sisters of indigenous American cuisine, and together they present a nearly complete protein profile. Eat the soup with some nixtamalized corn tostada chips and complete the triad!
This soup recipe is really a starting point. Adding more tomatoes (and more bulby flavor in the form of more onion, shallot, garlic) to this recipe will make it a lot like baked beans. Increasing the proportion of squash will also make it sweeter and more baked-beans like. Blitzing the soup to a smooth consistency will provide one sort of experience; it could be very smooth indeed if forced through a tamis or chinois. At the other extreme of the spectrum the soup could be enjoyed very well without any pureeing at all. In between those extremes one could hold back a certain amount of lumpy material and restore it to the soup after pureeing (and possibly after straining as well).
If you want to use dry beans to make this recipe, cooking 1 cup of dry beans should produce enough for this recipe. Cook them completely before making the soup.
The soup makes a delicious vegan meal, or it can be garnished with some dairy products for lacto-vegetarians. A meaty version is also delicious, making the whole soup around a smoked ham hock, for instance.
Makes enough about 2 litres.
Equipment:
• large saucepan or dutch oven
• immersion blender (optional)
Ingredients:
3 cup black beans, cooked cook 1 cup dry black beans in advance
1 cup winter squash diced and roasted
1 ea onion Medium, 1/2 - 3/4 cup
1/2 bulb garlic
1-2 rib celery
1 ea sweet pepper red
1 ea bay leaf
14 oz tomatoes canned; perhaps diced if the soup is to be left chunky
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
to taste: salt, pepper, lemon juice, etc.
Garnishes: herbs: parsley, cilantro, chives toasted: pepitas, pecans, sunflower seeds
dairy: feta, creme fraiche meat: lardons of smoky bacon, ham, venison jerky
Procedure:
1. Make sure the beans are cooked, and that the squash has been prepared, diced, and roasted.
2. Prepare the mirepoix for the soup by peeling and chopping the onion, peeling the garlic and taking the heels off, chopping the celery and the optional sweet pepper.
3. Sweat the vegetables with the bay leaf in a tablespoon or two of your favorite cooking oil. Add a little salt to pull out the moisture.
4. Once the vegetables are nice and soft, add the beans, squash, tomatoes and apple cider vinegar.
5. Allow everything to come back to a simmer, stirring occasionally. The cooked squash may become stuck to the bottom of the pan, so be vigilant against scorching.
6. Once everything is warm again, use an immersion blender to puree it to the desired smoothness. To get the last of the bean skins out, straining will be required. I prefer to include the fiber in my diet, but for a special occasion, a very smooth soup may be made by straining.
7. Once the soup is pureed, turn off the heat as it will most likely splatter horribly.
8. Serve the soup hot, pureed or not, along with some corn tostadas or your favorite soup-sopper. Garnish with any of a long list of excellent options depending on your dietary requirements.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
As we have mentioned before, beans and squash are two of the Three Sisters of indigenous American cuisine, and together they present a nearly complete protein profile. Eat the soup with some nixtamalized corn tostada chips and complete the triad!
This soup recipe is really a starting point. Adding more tomatoes (and more bulby flavor in the form of more onion, shallot, garlic) to this recipe will make it a lot like baked beans. Increasing the proportion of squash will also make it sweeter and more baked-beans like. Blitzing the soup to a smooth consistency will provide one sort of experience; it could be very smooth indeed if forced through a tamis or chinois. At the other extreme of the spectrum the soup could be enjoyed very well without any pureeing at all. In between those extremes one could hold back a certain amount of lumpy material and restore it to the soup after pureeing (and possibly after straining as well).
If you want to use dry beans to make this recipe, cooking 1 cup of dry beans should produce enough for this recipe. Cook them completely before making the soup.
The soup makes a delicious vegan meal, or it can be garnished with some dairy products for lacto-vegetarians. A meaty version is also delicious, making the whole soup around a smoked ham hock, for instance.
Makes enough about 2 litres.
Equipment:
• large saucepan or dutch oven
• immersion blender (optional)
Ingredients:
3 cup black beans, cooked cook 1 cup dry black beans in advance
1 cup winter squash diced and roasted
1 ea onion Medium, 1/2 - 3/4 cup
1/2 bulb garlic
1-2 rib celery
1 ea sweet pepper red
1 ea bay leaf
14 oz tomatoes canned; perhaps diced if the soup is to be left chunky
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
to taste: salt, pepper, lemon juice, etc.
Garnishes: herbs: parsley, cilantro, chives toasted: pepitas, pecans, sunflower seeds
dairy: feta, creme fraiche meat: lardons of smoky bacon, ham, venison jerky
Procedure:
1. Make sure the beans are cooked, and that the squash has been prepared, diced, and roasted.
2. Prepare the mirepoix for the soup by peeling and chopping the onion, peeling the garlic and taking the heels off, chopping the celery and the optional sweet pepper.
3. Sweat the vegetables with the bay leaf in a tablespoon or two of your favorite cooking oil. Add a little salt to pull out the moisture.
4. Once the vegetables are nice and soft, add the beans, squash, tomatoes and apple cider vinegar.
5. Allow everything to come back to a simmer, stirring occasionally. The cooked squash may become stuck to the bottom of the pan, so be vigilant against scorching.
6. Once everything is warm again, use an immersion blender to puree it to the desired smoothness. To get the last of the bean skins out, straining will be required. I prefer to include the fiber in my diet, but for a special occasion, a very smooth soup may be made by straining.
7. Once the soup is pureed, turn off the heat as it will most likely splatter horribly.
8. Serve the soup hot, pureed or not, along with some corn tostadas or your favorite soup-sopper. Garnish with any of a long list of excellent options depending on your dietary requirements.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
