Show soup some love and it will love you back

Plus a recipe for spicy black bean and butternut soup

Hi everyone,

Happy Lunar New Year’s eve to those who celebrate. I didn’t grow up strongly connected to this part of my cultural heritage, and once I became a young adult I maintained a sense of distance from the holiday, thinking it wasn’t for me or that I somehow wasn’t “Asian enough” to partake. But in recent years I’ve had conversations with many other AAPI folks who are empowering themselves to reclaim LNY as adults, often through a shared forging of modern traditions rooted in community. Tonight, I’m attending a community altar building hosted by my friend Kim at Prima in Brooklyn, open to all. We’ll collectively offer fruits, sweets, good luck objects, and more offerings to our ancestors, write wishes for the new year, and participate in a metta (loving kindness) meditation. If you’re in the area, come by from 6pm onward—it should be a sweet time.

But first, soup. Last weekend I taught a live virtual cooking class as part of my Nourish Yourself collaboration with

Cadence Dubus (she/her)

of Brooklyn Strength and I have to say, making a pot of soup while on Zoom with other people making soup is a wholesome-ass way to spend a Saturday night. The theme of the class was bean/legume soups, so everyone chose a different bean/legume, aromatics, spices, veggies, and toppings and we each ended up with a totally different soup; I left feeling like I had 5 new ideas to try. I enjoyed this format so much that I’ve started thinking about whether I’d like to offer live virtual classes (with recordings available) to folks here on the Substack or on another platform. If that’s something you’d be interested in, let me know.

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On Saturday I opted to make a black bean soup, which I haven’t made (or maybe even eaten?) in years, but my inner granola hippie will love forever. I added lots of cubed butternut squash for an extra dose of vegetables and puréed some of the soup so it would add a creamy texture without dairy, a favorite soup trick. The black beans and squash left whole provided plenty of texture to prevent bites from getting boring, and an abundance of toppings made this a soup for kings.

Great soup isn’t complicated, but it is demanding. It is needy, it likes to be babied at every step, and it requires fuller attention and greater patience than your average weeknight meal, which is why I think people can get confused about why their soups are lackluster. If you haven’t been especially wowed by your recent homemade soup efforts, try today’s recipe (free for all). Pay special attention to the actual amount of time you spend building the sofrito-ish mixture of aromatic vegetables in the beginning, as this step is responsible for the lion’s share of flavor in the finished soup. Bring a pot to your Super Bowl gathering and serve it in little bowls with lots of toppings set out salad bar-style. Freeze half for later and thank yourself for the service.

If you want to make your own black beans, I recommend following the method in the post below. Black beans in particular make a very special, inky, rich broth (and thus a very special soup).

Have a wonderful weekend and see you all here next week.

–Chaey

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Spicy Black Bean and Butternut Soup

4 to 6 servings

A few notes on shortcuts/substitutions/etc: If you’re not into chopping a bunch of stuff, you can quickly pulse the onion, carrot, bell pepper, jalapeño, and cilantro stems together in a food processor until finely chopped. Using store bought pre-cubed butternut squash will save you the step of peeling and hacking away at a whole squash. Use sweet potatoes instead, if that appeals. If not using bacon, substitute 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil for the bacon fat.

Ingredients
2 15-oz. cans black beans
1 medium onion
2 medium carrots
½ red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed
1 jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed
½ bunch cilantro
3 fat garlic cloves
5 oz. bacon
1 tsp. cumin seeds or ground cumin
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 chipotles in adobo, with their sauce
3 cups cubed butternut squash, from about half a medium squash
4 cups vegetable broth or vegetable bouillon reconstituted in hot water
½ lime, plus more lime wedges for serving
Toppings such as cilantro leaves with tender stems, sour cream, pickled or raw onions, pickled or raw jalapeños, sliced avocado, thinly sliced scallions, cheese, and/or crushed tortilla chips

Preparation

1. Rinse and drain two 15-oz. cans black beans in a colander and set aside.

2. Do some prep: finely chop 1 medium onion, 2 medium carrots, ½ red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, and 1 jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed. Finely chop the thick, fragrant bottom stems from 1/2 bunch cilantro; save the leaves and tender stems for serving. Finely chop 3 fat garlic cloves and keep separate from the other vegetables. Dice 5 oz. bacon.

2. Heat a medium Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-low. Add bacon to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until bacon bits are crisp and plenty of fat has rendered out, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon to a small bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving fat behind. Carefully pour off all but two tablespoons of bacon fat.

3. Return pot to medium. Add 1 tsp. cumin seeds or ground cumin and cook, stirring, until very fragrant and cumin seeds are a shade darker, about 30 seconds. Add onion, carrot, bell pepper, jalapeño, and chopped cilantro stems and stir to combine; season with a five-finger pinch of salt and several cracks of pepper. Cook vegetables, stirring occasionally, until they’re very, very soft and brown bits are starting to stick to the bottom of the pot, 10-12 minutes. Don’t rush this process—it’s what gives the soup all its depth. Add garlic and 1 tsp. dried oregano and cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, about a minute. Add 2 chipotles in adobo, with their sauce, using the back of a wooden spoon to mash them up a bit, and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring to prevent burnt bits. Add 3 cups cubed butternut squash, the drained beans, and most of the bacon to the pot along with 4 cups vegetable broth or vegetable bouillon reconstituted in hot water. Season with another large pinch of salt. Bring soup to a boil over high and then reduce heat to a simmer. Let soup gently bubble away, uncovered, until squash is completely tender, 15-20 minutes. Taste and season with more salt as desired.

4. Transfer a third of the soup to a blender, filling with equal parts broth and vegetables. If you see any large pieces of chipotle pepper skins, fish them out and add to blender. Making sure the blender lid has a vent for steam to escape, carefully purée soup on high until very smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour blended soup back into pot and return to a simmer over medium.

5. Remove pot from heat and stir in juice of ½ lime. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and/or lime juice as desired. Ladle hot soup into bowls and top with reserved bacon and cilantro leaves and as many other toppings as you desire (I favor a spoonful of sour cream, something pickled like red onions or jalapeños, sometimes also diced raw onion or thinly sliced scallions, cubed avocado, and some crushed thick tortilla chips like Vista Hermosa Totopos.)