PUMPKIN WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH ROSEMARY

I had a pumpkin whose top was chopped off and stolen to replace the top of a jack-o-lantern who had also been decapitated. There it was sitting in my fridge. I never tackled an entire pumpkin before, but recently at a great restaurant called Northeast Kingdom I had tried Pumpkin Black Bean Apple Cider Soup which was outstanding so I decided to make it with my favorite bean: the cannellini or the white bean.

A day ahead I roasted the pumpkin in the oven with salt, pepper and olive oil. I also soaked my dry beans ahead of time. The next evening I started boiling them for close to an hour. In the meantime, I sauteed an onion, fresh rosemary and some bay leaf in olive oil. Then I added the chunks of pumpkin and let everything sautee for a bit. Next I ladled in some of the water from boiling beans and some vegetable broth. I brought everything to a boil and added the beans along with the rest of the bean water, which is nice and starchy. At this point I added a clove of chopped garlic. I let everything simmer for a while until soft then I blended it until smooth.

It turned out to be a really simple and delicious well balanced soup. I got hints of everything, the pumpkin, the white beans and my favorite herb, the rosemary.

And I didn't let those pumpkin seeds go to waste, I toasted them with some curry, cayenne pepper, turmeric, paprika, salt and pepper.