Pumpkin Black Bean Soup 3#-4# whole Sugar Pie pumpkin (seeds removed, peeled, cut into chunks) or (2) 15 oz. cans pumpkin puree 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, or 3 tb butter 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 stalks celery, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced Small piece of ginger root, minced 3 cups canned or packaged stock (veggie, chicken, beef) 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice 2 cans (15 ounces) black beans, drained --If desired, blend ½ of a can of beans to make the soup thicker 1 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon curry powder 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper Coarse salt Fresh chives, chopped or snipped, for garnish (optional) Directions Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add oil. When oil is hot, add onion and celery, sauté 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger root, sauté 1 minute. For Canned Pumpkin Add broth, tomatoes, black beans and pumpkin puree. Stir to combine ingredients and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in cream, curry, cumin, cayenne and salt, to taste. Simmer 5 minutes, adjust seasonings. For Fresh Pumpkin Add the broth to the pot. Add the pumpkin chunks, simmer until tender, ±30 minutes.) Puree with immersion blender, or let the mixture cool, then puree in countertop blender. Optionally, you can steam the pumpkin chunks without peeling, scrape the cooked flesh off of the skin, mash/puree, then add to the broth and briefly heat through. Add tomatoes and black beans. Stir to combine ingredients and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in cream, curry, cumin, cayenne and salt, to taste. Simmer 5 minutes, adjust seasonings. Serve garnished with chopped chives if desired. pdf attached