Written By: Nina Goffi

Why, winter, why?! The cold season seems to be hanging on with an iron clad grip this year, but luckily we’ve got plenty of warm-belly recipes to tide you over until Spring. The tool that I tend to neglect in my kitchen most often than not is the slow cooker and this soup recipe gives it the love that it deserves. Chop everything up, set it, and forget it–and then consume by the spoonfuls to your heart’s content.

Winter Black Bean Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 cups dried Black Beans

1 small Butternut Squash, cubed*

1 yellow Onion, chopped

1 Carrot, chopped

2 cloves Garlic

1 Poblano Pepper*

4 cups Vegetable Stock

Healthy pinch Sea Salt

2 tsp Chili Powder

2 tsp ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Cayenne

Juice of 2 Limes

*No butternut squash in the pantry? Use a sweet potato or more carrots instead to keep the spicy-sweet ratio intact.

*Not a big spice fan? Poblanos are a mild pepper, but removing the seeds will help turn the dial down. You can also half the chili powder and ground cumin!

Instructions:

1. Soak beans overnight or 8-10 hours to remove oligosaccharides (toot causing carbohydrates–your dinner guest will thank you!) If the soup is time sensitive, 3, 15oz cans of black beans should do the trick.

2. Prep and combine all ingredients except lime juice into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Veggies should be tender.

3. Serve soup as is or use an immersion blender to puree soup as desired (my preference is half and half! Love the texture!). Add lime juice and stir to combine. Serve with more fresh lime, thinly sliced red onions, cilantro, or/and avocado!

Nina Goffi is a book designer by day, yoga instructor by night. She is the Co-Creator of Sunset Yoga BK, an outdoor community based yoga collective and is diving mouth first into food blogdom after snapping her healthy meals on @OpenTabBrooklyn. She balances office life with a passion for all things crunchy, green, and nourishing. You can find her lip syncing to Kanye on the Q and offering Kombucha scobys to strangers.

Follow her on instagram @opentabbrooklyn