dcseain | Three Sisters Soup (Reply)

nancylebov made a post about this soup. Following is my commentary about the recipe, from an email a while back to a friend, and the original recipe.

I used 6 cups of stock rather than 3 cups of bouillon. Using the 3 the recipe calls for makes for a much thicker soup which is quite nice, but not what i was looking for this time.

I used butternut squash because the orange flesh adds to the colour. I used about 3x the chili powder plus a scant tbs of paprika in place of the Southwestern Spice Blend; totally adjust that to taste as the amounts are best guesses cause i didn't measure, i just added till it tasted right to me. The colour of the soup varies depending on the amount of chili powder added, obviously.

The additional stock i used also made for a dilution of the orange of the squash. The friend from whom i got this recipe has used zucchini and yellow squash instead of winter squashes with success, and a thinner soup.

I used medium onions, small chop, rather than the small ones because that's what i had on hand, and i substituded shelled Edamame for the lima beans. This time i used white beans, though i've used cannelini and navy beans in the past. This time, i mashed most of the squash, but not beans.

When i have leftovers, i add tomato and use it as a pasta sauce with penne rigtate or radiatore or such smallish shape.

3 pounds winter squash (such as acorn or hubbard) or pie pumpkin
3 small onions, chopped
3 cups bouillon
3 heaping teaspoons Southwestern Spice Blend
3 cans (16-19 oz.) cannelini or other white beans, undrained
3 cups fresh or frozen lima beans
3 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
3 tablespoons chopped chives or green onions for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Cut the winter squash in half, remove the seeds and lay it on the cookie sheet, cut sides down. Bake the squash for 30-45 minutes, or until the flesh is soft enough to scoop out with a spoon.

Meanwhile, bring 1/2 cup of the bouillon to a boil, add the onions and cook 5- 10 minutes. Stir in the rest of the bouillon, the Southwestern Spice Blend and the white beans. Simmer gently until the squash is ready. Scoop the soft squash flesh out of the shells and stir it into the soup. Mash the beans and squash slightly to thicken the soup. (You can puree it in a blender if you want a really smooth consistency.) Add the lima beans and simmer 10 minutes or until the beans are tender. Stir in the corn, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each serving with chopped chives or green onions, if desired.