From our first night at Café Pasqual’s with their rich and
delicious mole to our last night at Santacafe – a decedent rib eye alongside
red chile Béarnaise, lovely food and friendly service from a variety of
restaurants graced our evenings in between. The food in Santa Fe has never been
a disappointment, this year it was off the charts. Truly an inspiration….
Home now with a handful of beautiful Anasazi beans fresh
from my garden I ponder my options. My first inclination is to just make a
simple pot of beans. I love the flavor of beans and have become a huge fan of
Rancho Gordo Heirloom Beans. This mail order company based in Napa offers hard
to find varieties and it’s hard to argue with the simple methods by which they
recommend you use them.
Then I remember the beautiful Chioggia squash on my front
porch. This big warty bluish squash was grown on a ranch in Cayucos in our coop
garden. Ahhh, what better way to use my handful of beans than to marry it with
a delicious squash in a hearty fall soup with a bit of sage and some roasted
pasilla chiles. The great thing about soup is that you can adapt a soup to fit
what you’ve got in your cupboard. This recipe is adapted from a white bean and
butternut squash recipe from an old Gourmet magazine. Here’s the version I made
with my Anasazi beans, Chioggia squash and the last of this year’s tomatoes.
Chioggia Squash and Anasazi Bean Soup
1 cup of Anasazi (or other white beans).
3 cups water or broth
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
3 cups of Chioggia (or other winter squash)
1 pasilla chile, roasted, skinned, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon fresh sage, finely chopped
½ cup finely grated pecorino cheese
Cook the beans in water or broth until almost tender. Add
garlic, tomatoes and squash adding broth or water as needed. Cook until squash
is tender. Smash some of the squash
against the side of the saucepan to thicken the soup slightly. Add pasilla
chile, sage and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste, serve.