Last week, I mentioned the awesome range in recipes for pumpkin on Pinterest. While there are more sweet than savory pins, there was definitely enough to get my creative wheels going and my slow cooker cooking. I think that if more people knew how easy it was to make foods with pumpkin there would be more pumpkin recipes out there, so don’t be shy. If you have a savory pumpkin dish you make, tell us about it. Maybe we can start a trend.
The recipe below is an original creation, but I did notice a theme in flavors and foods people paired with pumpkin. For example, many savory dishes involve sage and sausage rather than paprika and chicken. I don’t have sage, but I do have Herbes de Provence which is a Mediterranean-inspired blend of herbs. Sausage was a no-brainer and while I chose spicy for this recipe, you could easily use sweet sausage. In the end, the pumpkin, once cooked, tasted like a sweet squash so the contrast with spicy sausage was the perfect blend. Then, in continuing with my Mexican cooking thoughts, I added black beans and corn. Great flavors coming together easily, slow cooking and ending in a very filling soup.
As a little side note, we’re publishing this one a day early so that for anyone who wants an option for dinner other than pizza after all the trick or treating, you have plenty of time shop and peel and cut your pumpkin. This recipe is perfect to prepare on the early side of when the kids get home from their half day so that it’s ready by the time they are home and all sugared up. Enjoy!
Crock It! Pumpkin Black Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1/2 onion, diced
6 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
2 cans of black beans, drained but not rinsed
2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup frozen corn
3 cups pumpkin peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
What’s Next:
Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray.
Brown sausages and break up into rough chunks with a wooden spoon as you are cooking- about 10-12 minutes.
When meat is cooked through and no longer pink, add onions to center of pan and cook until they are translucent.
Add Herbs de Provence and cook for another 30-45 seconds stirring all together until fragrant.
Add sausage mixture to slow cooker.
Add pumpkin, tomato paste and corn.
Add beans, and be sure to scrape all that stuff off the bottom of the can.
Add chicken stock and stir everything together.
Cover and cook on low for 4 1/2 to 5 hours.
Notes from my experience:
This recipe makes a fair amount of soup–great for a weekend.
If you want to know the easy way to cut up the pumpkin, watch our YouTube video.
The pumpkin will start off bright yellow and then get darker as it cooks.
This really is a very filling soup and with the meat, I consider it a full meal. Serve with a chunk of warm bread.
