Black bean pumpkin soup

We put this together using a lonely sugar pumpkin hanging on our counter from a few weeks back. Makes a festive Halloween dinner!

Adapted from Gourmet

Yield: 9 cups

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/4 cups chopped onion 1/2 cup minced shallot

4 garlic cloves minced

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons guajillo powder

1 teaspoon ancho chile powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

pinch cayenne

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

about 2 cups roasted pumpkin

Three 15 1/2 ounce cans black beans (about 4 1/2 cups), rinsed and drained

1 cup canned tomatoes, chopped, with juices

2 cups broth

1/2 cup dry red wine

3 to 4 tablespoons Sherry or other vinegar (we used balsamic)
Garnish: sour cream and coarsely chopped lightly toasted pumpkin seeds

In a 6-quart heavy kettle cook onion, shallot, garlic, spices, salt, and pepper in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened and beginning to brown. Stir in pumpkin, beans and tomatoes. Stir in broth and Sherry until combined and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes, or so. Puree soup to desired consistency either with an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender. Bring soup back up to a simmer.

Just before serving add vinegar and simmer soup, stirring, until heated through. Season soup with salt and pepper.

Serve soup garnished with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Ancho Honey Glaze or What to do with your soup mix

Last week we got a giant bag of soup mix (rutabagas, turnips, carrots, and parsnips) in our Irv and Shelly's box. Not really feeling like making soup, we made a double batch of this lovely little glaze for roasting a chicken and the soup mix veggies (and some beets). The results were delish!

Adapted from Bon Appetit
1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground ancho chiles

1/2 teaspoon ground guajillo chiles

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Stir oil, honey, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt. Let glaze stand at least 45 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

From Orangette:

4 Tbsp. olive oil, plus additional good oil for drizzling
2 large yellow onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. kosher salt, or more to taste
A few grinds of freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne or Aleppo pepper, or more to taste
2 quarts broth
2 cups red lentils, picked through for stones and debris
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
Juice of 1 lemon, or more to taste
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a large pot, warm the oil over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Add the onions and garlic and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne, and cook for 2 minutes longer. Add the broth, 2 cups water, the lentils, and the carrots. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover the pot and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Continue to cook until the lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste, and add more salt if necessary. Using an immersion or regular blender, puree about half of the soup. It should still be somewhat chunky, not completely smooth. Reheat if necessary, then stir in the lemon juice and cilantro. Serve the soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted very lightly with cayenne, if desired.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Chickpea + lentil salad with sun-dried tomato vinaigrette

Another perfect, healthy lunch that makes lots. From the Once Upon a Tart cookbook, which I highly recommend. Omit the parm in the dressing to make this vegan.

Chickpea and Lentil Salad with Zucchini and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

1 cup of French lentils (Puy lentils), well rinsed
1 cup of dried chickpeas, well rinsed
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 large jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 zucchini, finely chopped [I didn't have any so I used a bunch of radishes, diced]
6 - 8 marinated sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
one recipe sun-dried tomato dressing
1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
chopped parsley

Soak the chickpeas in enough water to cover overnight. Drain, transfer to a medium large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and cover and simmer until the chickpeas are tender - roughly 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

In another medium large saucepan, bring the lentils to a boil in 4 cups of water. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the lentils are tender - roughly 20 - 25 minutes. Drain and add them to the bowl of chickpeas.

Add the onion, red pepper, jalapeno pepper, zucchini/radish and sun-dried tomatoes, along with the dressing to the beans. Toss until everything is evenly coated with the dressing. Now add the fresh basil leaves and parsley, a pinch of S+P, and toss again gently.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Yields 4 - 6 servings.