The pumpkin and bean soup is a tasty and invigorating dish to savor in autumn or winter. It’s an easy recipe to prepare with simple and readily available ingredients. When the first chills appear, there’s nothing better than a warm and flavorful dish. Pumpkin and bean soup can also be enriched with bacon or fresh sausage and flavored with spices like parsley, sage, or rosemary. We can accompany it with croutons flavored with extra virgin olive oil and garlic.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring
Ingredients
- 1.1 lbs cleaned pumpkin
- 9 oz cooked red beans
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp dry white wine
- to taste fine salt
- 1 chili peppers
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste parsley and sage
- 1 glass bean cooking water or tap water
Steps
We can use canned beans or cook them ourselves, according to our habits. In the first case, canned beans should be rinsed well under running water before being added to the pumpkin.
After cooking the beans, save a full glass of their cooking water (or tap water if not available).
Clean the pumpkin, removing the fibers and seeds, and cut it into not too large pieces.
In a non-stick pan (or one with a thick bottom), sauté the garlic and chili pepper in a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil over low heat on a small burner.
As soon as the garlic starts to brown, add the diced pumpkin and cook it for about a couple of minutes over high heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon.
Then, pour in the wine and let the alcohol evaporate, then salt to taste.
Add a few sage leaves, the glass of bean cooking water, and cook over low heat, covered, until the pumpkin begins to soften. At that point, add the beans and continue cooking for about ten minutes (if you want the pumpkin to become much softer or almost mushy, prolong the cooking until the desired consistency is reached), allowing the beans to absorb the flavors; finish the dish with fresh chopped parsley.
