Recipe: Black Bean and Butternut Squash Soup

BLACK BEAN AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

"This two in one soup is beautiful to behold and tastes as good as it looks. It's impressive, yet ridiculously easy to prepare. If you'd rather use freshly cooked black beans, start with 1 1/2 cups of dried beans. You can use the bean cooking liquid instead of water to prepare the bean soup."

FOR THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP:
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 onion, diced (about 1-1/4 cups)
1 carrot, diced (about 1/3 cup)
small butternut squash, diced (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Salt, to taste
FOR THE BLACK BEAN SOUP:
1 dried chipotle chile, stemmed
3 cups drained canned black beans, well rinsed
1 cup water, plus more as needed
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
1/4 teaspoon chopped dried epazote, optional
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt, to taste

HOW TO MAKE THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP:
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium low heat. Add the onion and carrot. Cook until the onion is tender, 4-6 minutes.

Add the squash and enough water to cover by about 3 inches. Simmer, uncovered, until the squash and carrots are fork tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir in the honey, cinnamon, and allspice and simmer, 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let cool, 10 minutes.
Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. (Thin the soup with a little water if necessary.)

Pour the soup back into the pot and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Season with salt. Reduce the heat to low and keep the soup hot until ready to serve.

HOW TO MAKE THE BLACK BEAN SOUP:
Grind the chipotle chile into a powder in a spice grinder. Puree the ground chipotle, beans, water, oregano, epazote, and cumin in a blender until smooth. Thin with a little additional water, if necessary.

Bring the soup to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Season with salt. Reduce the heat to low and keep the soup hot until ready to serve.

TO SERVE THE SOUP:
Simultaneously ladle equal amounts of the two soups side by side into a heated soup bowl. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 servings
Adapted from source: Book of Soups by The Culinary Institute of America