Amazon Bean Soup with Winter Squash and Greens

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 pounds buttercup squash, peeled and diced (about 6 cups)
• 1 plum tomato, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 15-ounce cans pinto or other brown beans, rinsed
• 10 ounces spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add garlic, carrots and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add broth and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add squash, tomato, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the squash is very soft and almost breaking apart, about 20 minutes.

Transfer 3 cups of the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Return the pureed soup to the pot. Stir in beans and spinach and cook over medium heat until the beans are heated through and the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.

To make squash bowls: Preheat oven to 425°F. Slice about an inch off the top of each buttercup squash. Scoop out seeds and loose flesh. Pour 1/2 inch water into a glass baking dish (or two) large enough to hold the squash. Place squash cut-side down in the water. Bake until the flesh is tender when gently poked with a knife and the squash still holds its shape, about 30 minutes.