I usually see spaghetti squash get rave reviews in the blogosphere. There are a ton of recipes out there, and some even use it as a replacement for pasta. I’ve tried it a couple different ways, but I just can’t seem to jump on the bandwagon. So when we got a spaghetti squash in our Bountiful Basket recently, I knew I’d need to find something different to do with it.
I’ve had good luck with other squash in soups before so that seemed a good place to start. The internet delivered this recipe and I decided to give it a try, with a few changes.
Southwestern Spaghetti Squash Soup
- 1 1/3 cups dry, uncooked black beans (or 2 cans black beans, drained)
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 an onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed and diced
- 1 jalapeno, seeds removed and diced small
- 1/2 cup roasted green chiles, chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground oregano
- 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken broth
- salt to taste
- cilantro
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
If you are using dry black beans, you need to start several hours in advance. Rinse the beans, place in a large pot and cover generously with water. Bring to a boil, then cover and set aside to soak for one hour. In the mean time, preheat the oven to 375. Place the whole spaghetti squash on a baking pan and bake for about an hour, or until a knife slides in easily. When cool enough to touch, cut squash in half, scoop out seeds and discard. Scoop out the flesh and set aside.
Once the beans have soaked, drain the water and rinse the beans thoroughly. Cover with water and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to simmer and cover. Let simmer until tender, at least one more hour (possibly more). When beans are done, drain and set aside.
In your soup pot, heat olive oil and throw in the onions and garlic. Cook for a couple minutes, then add green bell pepper, jalapeno and green chiles and cook for a few minutes more. Add spices and cook for a minute or so until fragrant. Add tomatoes and stir, then add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
In a blender, combine most of the spaghetti squash with about a cup of the cooked black beans. Add a few ladles full of the soup and puree. Add puree, remaining spaghetti squash (I gave the strands a rough chop first) and remaining black beans to the soup. Add salt to taste (I needed about 1 1/2 tsp of kosher salt, but start with less and work your way up). Soup is ready when heated through.
Serve with cilantro, shredded cheese and sour cream.
The verdict: very good! As Paul said last night, we have found it’s hard to go wrong with Southwestern soups in our house. I will definitely have this on my list of go-to spaghetti squash recipes. By itself. At least for now. Do you have a tasty spaghetti squash recipe? Feel free to share!
