Black Bean Soup

The first time I had this soup was at Kala Point on a cold autumn evening. October on the Olympic Peninsula is about as cold as it gets before the rain starts and we'd spent the day tasting beers at the Port Townsend Brewery and braving the winds at the beach. This soup was the perfect way to warm up from the inside out—it's comforting yet unique. Kristin discovered the recipe and was intrigued, as I was, by its interesting layers of ingredients:

3 cans of black beans, 2 pureed in a processor
1 can diced tomatoes, pureed
3 onions
4 garlic cloves
4 cups beef broth
15 oz. pumpkin puree
1 lb. cubed ham
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Pumpkin?! Sherry vinegar? Ham and black beans?! Ok. That last one made sense.

The soup is fantastic. After softening up the chopped onions and garlic in butter, you add the pureed beans, whole beans, tomatoes, pumpkin and broth. Go nuts with coarsely ground pepper and sea salt, as you know I do. About 15 minutes before serving, add the sherry vinegar and ham to warm them up. On a cold evening, it's hearty, comfy, very flavorful, and—bonus!—full of fiber!