Soup Chick®

Seven soups every Saturday: black bean soup recipes

In the house where I grew up, no one even thought to eat black bean soup. To us, soup meant chicken soup (homemade with matzoh balls, or canned with noodles), or tomato soup from the red-and-white can. Occasionally we had clam chowder, the real New England kind, but never homemade. So, when I went off to college and began to cook with beans, as every college kid on a budget learns to do, the whole vista of black bean soups opened up to me. Spicy, sweet, smooth or chunky, I loved them all. And, to this day, I've never tired of them.

Turkey, kale and butternut squash soup recipe

When you make this soup, you don't need to use kale and mushrooms and butternut squash that are, well, a bit tired. All I can tell you is that I did, and what began as a fridge dump turned into a soup so good that I hurried to write the recipe because I knew I'd be making this again. My husband Ted, who has tasted more fridge dumps than any man should be asked to do, ate this two days in a row. And he had seconds. That's major. If you start with peeled and cubed butternut squash from the market, the soup comes together quickly, and that squash almost melts into the soup and gives it an irresistible sweetness.

Seven soups every Saturday: butternut squash soup recipes

Of all the squashes in all the world, butternut squash wins the people's choice award. Perhaps we like its natural sweetness, brought out by roasting. Perhaps we like its mild flavor that mellows into soups and stews, and pairs well with almost any fruit or hot pepper or protein. Or, perhaps, we just like its voluptuous shape. For soup, I like to buy ready-to-cook butternut squash that's been peeled and cubed; my supermarket stocks it in the produce section all winter, and it definitely speeds up my soup prep.