08 November 2008

The Giant


I first saw a Hubbard squash at our farmers market two autumns ago.  It's sheer enormity motivated my astonished question to the farmer, "What is that!?"  "A Hubbard squash, it's sweet," was the reply.  I thanked her for her answer but left without the Hubbard squash because 1. I wasn't sure I could carry that bad boy, 2.  If I could carry it, I knew that I would never be able to cut into it without cutting off a finger, and 3.  Even if I was able to cut into it without maiming myself, there was no way it was going to fit in my oven.
Our CSA box this week contained about a fifth of what had to be an enormous Hubbard squash placed in a plastic bag (Fortunately, our farmer, almost sensing my anxiety about the size of Hubbard squashes, had cut it for us.  Thanks Alan).  I had no idea what to do with it but knew I had to cook it quickly lest it mold.  Two nights ago I placed it in the oven to roast slowly for an hour and a half and scooped out the meat with the intention of finding something to make with it.  I happened upon this soup creation which was quite tasty.  The cinnamon and the cumin pair beautifully together and really complimented the sweet flesh of the Hubbard.  If you don't have access to a Hubbard squash, I'm sure you could substitute any number of the fabulous members of the cucurbita family on the market now.  By the way, the latin name for Hubbard squash is cucurbita maxima.  I find this a very fitting name for this giant.

Winter Squash and Pinto Bean Soup by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
1 Tbls. olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 garlic clove, minced
3-4 cups cooked squash (if you are making this with raw squash, cut into small cubes and increase the cooking time so that the squash is fully cooked)
3 cups chicken broth
1 (15oz.) can of whole tomatoes with the juice, crushed
1 (15oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed


Saute the onion in the olive oil until slightly browned.  Place the sauteed onion in the insert of a slow cooker.  Add the cumin, salt, cinnamon, garlic, squash and chicken broth to the slow cooker and cover.  Cook on Low heat for 3-4 hours.  Puree soup until smooth with your hand blender.  Add the crushed tomatoes and the pinto beans to the pureed soup and cook on High for 1 hour until heated through and bubbling.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

nice recipe..looks delicious..

anudivya said...

Hot bowl of soup is exactly what I am craving for right now... looks awesome with the steam coming off of it.

Teresa Cordero Cordell said...

Joie de vivre, thank you for stopping by. And for your comments.
I like this soup. We have a lot of soup during the Fall and Winter months. I'll be adding this to my list of recipes. :)

Our Food Recipes said...

Hi...you have a nice food blog. YUMMY ! Just added and faved you. Hope you can join Our Food Recipes. Thank you

Christo Gonzales said...

this is one excellent soup - and about the neck bones - no they are the spine so it is just that - I wouldnt call them little bones

Anonymous said...

interesting how you kept the crushed tomatoes in their crushed forms and the pinto beans were left whole. i wonder how it would taste if it was all pureed?

Joie de vivre said...

Thank you for noticing my strange pureeing step. I did this because my sons do not like "vegetables" in their soup, but they like beans. Also, if I puree the whole soup, they are often suspicious, but if I leave beans whole, they fish them out and end up eating some of the soup in the process. There is a method behind my madness!

anudivya said...

Hey! I just saw ur comment in another blog about Indian restaurants in Eastern WA, I could surely recommend some... I live here too :)
I assume it is around the Puget Sound area, right?

Purva Desai said...

Hi,

Firstly thanks for dropping by.

As for Nigella seeds, these are actually onion seeds. I look forward to exploring your blog and picking up recepies that you have made as I havent been into French cooking and would love to...

Anonymous said...

Joie de vivre,
Thanks for dropping by my blog! Now I have found another food blog to read :)

By the way, I have never tried squash and pinto beans! It looks like a good combo.. I love soup and it's extremely good during this of freeeezing time of the year!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

That sounds so wonderful! I love to make a big pot of soup when the weather gets cold...like NOW! I love your blog! Thanks for stopping by to visit mine today!

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