This soup is loud. Beefy, spicy, smoky, textured and complex, ten times better than I even knew pumpkin soup could be. It has no cream. It is thickened by coarsely-pureed black beans.
The chicken is tender and flavorful from simmering for hours in the sauce, and the sauce itself has a lovely balance of sweet and savory instead of the near-cloying sweetness you might be used to.
This recipe is pretty comforting as well. Like a blanket of happiness wrapped around meats. Ha. And since we don’t eat tortillas in this little paleo community of ours, I had to turn to the next best thing. Sweet potatoes.
I like to make and freeze a big batch of Asian dumplings like these tofu and kimchi-filled Korean mandu. They're easy to heat up as a bite to eat between running to events and make a nice appetizer for guests, too.