A (Culinary) Salute to Fall

Fall has officially arrived, and I'm doing a little dance of glee even as my coworkers bemoan the sudden downturn in temperature. I'm a fall baby, so maybe that's why I love it so much, or maybe it's the fact that I live in an area that wears fall so beautifully. Either way, the second that crisp edge enters the air, the leaves start changing, and the markets start showing mums, apples, and pumpkins, I get all warm and fuzzy.

The farm's gotten into the swing of things by putting out the first batch of pumpkins, and I gleefully picked one up, thinking: Pumpkin White Bean Stew!

This stew is one of my mother's specialties, and she used to make it for me on Halloween. Believe me, there's nothing quite like coming in from trick or treating, chilled and tired, and being served up a nice bowl of festively orange stew with a side of roasted pumpkin seeds. Bliss!

Pumpkin-White-Bean Stew
1 medium-size pumpkin (try to get one from a farm or farmers' market. They have more flavor than the ones at the grocery store)
5-6 sage leaves
5 stems of thyme
Olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 clove garlic, diced
1 cup white beans, soaked overnight, or two cans, rinsed
3 1/2 + 1 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock, separated 
2 tsp brown sugar
3/4-1 tsp chili powder

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Cut the pumpkin into fourths and scrape out all the seeds and guts. Rinse the seeds well and set them aside. Arrange the pumpkin on a baking sheet

Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil over the pumpkin. Cut up the sage leaves and remove the thyme from the stems. Sprinkle both over the pumpkin quarters and season.

Roast the pumpkin 20-25 minutes, until the herbs become fragrant and the flesh just starts to roast. Let cool until you can handle it without burning yourself.

Separate the flesh from the skin of the pumpkin and cut into large dice. Put a quarter of the dice in a saucepan with the 1 1/4 cups of stock and boil until the pumpkin is tender. Puree in a blender and set aside.

Saute the onion, cumin seeds, and garlic in olive oil in a large pot for 3-5 minutes, until the onion starts to get translucent. Add the remaining pumpkin and stock, the brown sugar, and the chili powder. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer about 15 minutes. Add the soaked beans, recover, and simmer another 10-15 minutes, until beans and pumpkin are tender.

Add in the pureed pumpkin. Taste and adjust seasonings. If you like it sweeter, add more brown sugar or a bit of honey. If you like heat, more chili powder. You get the idea.

**Cook's note: one of the nice things about this recipe is its adaptability. It's great with classic herbs, like sage and thyme, or curry spices, which is what my mother used a lot. Feel free to experiment--chances are, you'll be glad you did.