Bean Squash And Spinach Soup With Fresh Herbs Recipe

How to make it

---

• 1. In a large, heavy pot, heat olive oil and saute leek and garlic, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in broth, beans, squash, and herbs.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, about 20 minutes, until squash is tender and beans are soft.
• Scoop 1 1/2 cups soup into a blender and puree until smooth. Add a bit more broth if necessary. Stir back into pot.
• Stir in spinach and cook for 4-5 minutes longer, until greens are wilted.
• Season with salt and pepper, and, if desired, vermouth.
• Notes:
• Note on leeks: Leeks have dirt packed into them tightly. Best way to prep them is to chop as desired for recipe, then plunge them into a big bowl of water and swish to release dirt. Then drain and rinse.
• Note on beans: The original recipe (OR) called for 3 cups of chickpeas. I used some chickpeas and some white beans. I recommend going with only lighter colored beans for this recipe. If you are using canned beans, rinse them well before cooking with them, as the gas-producing goodies are in the water they are packed in.
• Note on squash: The only reason this recipe was so fast and easy for me was because I used a 10 oz. bag of frozen butternut squash. I find peeling and chopping butternut squashes to be quite difficult and tend to avoid recipes that ask me to do so. I imagine that a couple of large sweet potatoes (much easier to chop and peel) would work nicely in this recipe if you don't have access to the frozen squash.
• Note on herbs: OR called for 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh rosemary. I didn't have enough, so I used a combo. I think any combo (except fresh basil - go for oregano, marjoram, sage, thyme) would be nice.
• Note on vermouth: When the stew was done it still seemed to "need something." Vermouth is my go-to ingredient for soups that need perking up, and I like how it turned out. But the recipe would work fine without it.