Sausage Bean Soup in a Pumpkin!

Prepare white beans

1. • If using dried beans, heat 4 cups of water and beans in a large pot to boiling. Let boil for 10 minutes, covered. 
   • Turn off heat and keep beans covered, soaking in hot water for 1 hour or until tender.
   • If beans are not 90% cooked (soft, but just shy of being soft enough to eat) add 1-2 more cups of water and boil for another 10 minutes, repeating the above process.
   • Reserve 1/4 cup of water from bean soaking liquid.

Prepare beans used to thicken soup

1. • In a blender or food processor combine the 1/4 cup reserved bean cooking liquid from above, with 1 cup of the cooked beans. Blend until smooth and creamy.
   • Set aside, covered. This will be mixed into the soup to thicken it - without the use of flour, or cornstarch!

Prepare Pumpkins

1. • If you are serving the soup in sugar pumpkins, which I highly recommend, cut the tops off of scrubbed pumpkins and clean out insides. 
   • Rub inside of pumpkin and inside of lid with oil. Sprinkle with salt.
   • Place in a glass baking dish or sheet pan lined with parchment, flesh side down.
   • Bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a knife slides into the pumpkin flesh easily.
   
   You can make this recipe with as many pumpkins as you want, each pumpkin holds several cups of soup, so to serve two people you could really use one pumpkin and cut the pumpkin in half to serve the soup in pumpkin-half bowls! Skip this step all together if you are not serving your soup in pumpkins.

Prepare soup

1. • In a large skillet over medium heat cook sausage. If you are making your own sausage from ground pork, see my nitrate, additive free sausage recipe here.
   • Crumble sausage as it cooks, when sausage is just shy of being fully cooked add: leeks, celery, carrot. Cook 2 minutes.
   • Add black pepper, fresh sage and thyme.
   • Add beans and 4 cups of stock.
   • Stir and bring to a simmer. 
   • Cook for 5-10 minutes at a simmer, or until beans are fully cooked and soft. 
   • Add peas. 
   • Stir in white bean mixture to thicken.
   • Remove from heat and add milk. Stir to combine.
   • Add kosher salt to taste.
   • Ladle into pumpkins and serve!
   
   Because sausage and chicken broth varies depending on which brand you buy or how much salt you put into the sausage when making it, it is a good idea to taste the soup before adding any salt. You might not need to add any!