Love for Food

I am pumpkin obsessed this year. I bought a few more cans at Trader Joe's this past weekend and searched the internet for new recipe ideas. I wanted to go savory instead of sweet. I came across the Closet Cooking blog's Pumpkin Black Bean Soup and knew that I had to give it a try. I was actually thinking of making a bean soup this week also. The Pumpkin Black Bean Soup fit the bill of both my savory pumpkin, and bean soup wish list.
One of the great things about the soup is how fast it is to make. It took me under ten minutes to make (only the time it took to cut up and cook the onions). The soup does not have a strong pumpkin taste. Similar to my Pumpkin Turkey Chili, the pumpkin mellows out and adds a nice back note for the black beans. The pumpkin also makes the soup very creamy without the addition of cream or dairy. Not to mention pumpkin is low in calorie and very healthy.
The soup is suppose to make four servings. The servings seemed rather large to me. I ended up eating a little less soup and adding a link of my favorite chicken sausage in it for some extra protein ump! There is a TON of fiber in the soup that keeps your belly full and satisfied. Does anyone have any other ideas for savory dishes using canned pumpkin?

Ingredients: Serves Four
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 tablespoon cumin1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder (I used regular American)
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 (19 ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 (14 ounce) can tomatoes (chopped)
1/4 cup dry Sherry (or dry white wine)
1 handful cilantro (chopped, optional)
Method:

• Heat the oil in a pan.
• Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
• Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
• Add the broth, pumpkin, black beans, tomatoes and sherry and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Remove from heat and puree to the desired consistency.
• Serve garnished with cilantro