Spicy Butternut Squash Soup With Black Beans, Red Bell Pepper, A

Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 large butternut squash (about 1.5 lbs.)
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 cups finely chopped onions
• 2 cups finely chopped celery
• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced (about 1 t minced garlic)
• 6 cups vegetable stock (or slightly more, if you'd like a thinner soup) or 6 cups canned vegetable broth (or slightly more, if you'd like a thinner soup)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin (or more)
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped small
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (plus more to garnish soup if desired)
• 1 -2 tablespoon tabasco jalapeno sauce (or other jalapeno hot sauce of your choice)
• low-fat sour cream or plain greek yogurt (to garnish)
• lime wedge (optional)
• tortilla chips (optional)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven or toasted oven to 400f/200°c cut butternut squash in half and use a sharp spoon to scoop out seeds. place squash on a baking sheet and season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. roast squash until it is soft enough to pierce easily with a fork, and starting to slightly brown, about 50-60 minutes. let squash cool enough to handle.
• 2 while squash is roasting, chop onion and celery and mince the garlic. heat olive oil in large non-stick soup pot and saute onions and celery until they're soft, about 7 minutes. add minced garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more. add 2 cups of vegetable broth and simmer the mixture about 10 minutes.
• 3 as soon as the squash has cooled enough to handle, scrape the flesh away with the skin and mix it with the other 4 cups of broth and the ground cumin. add this mixture to the soup pot and simmer about 20 minutes; then use an immersion blender to puree the soup.
• 4 while the soup simmers, rinse the black beans well with cold water and let them drain in a colander. chop the cilantro and red bell pepper. after you're pureed the soup add the beans, red bell pepper, and cilantro and simmer about 15-20 minutes more, adding a little more stock if you'd like a thinner soup. stir in the green tabasco sauce to taste and serve hot, garnished with low-fat sour cream or plain greek yogurt, lime wedges, and tortilla chips if desired.