A First Stab at Ramen in Decatur

Last week, Margaret and I watched Tampopo, and well before we finished, Margaret said out loud what I had been thinking most

A Columbus Day Soup

Navy Bean Soup with Grits

The soup is somewhat of a triangulation. It lies somewhere among the bean soup my mom made when I was a kid, Heidi Swanson’s lima bean soup with chipotle broth, and posole. If I had had whole corn on hand, and time to turn it into hominy, this would have been closer to posole. Using the grits inspired me to use the pumpkin, so the recipe has the three sisters (corn, beans, squash); adding chiles makes this recipe even more appropriate to be served on what I grew up calling Columbus Day (and seems to be becoming Indigenous Peoples Day). I think this soup might be even better with baby limas; they make such a lovely silky broth on their own and cook more quickly. I also think this soup would be good with some bitter greens like arugula or kale tossed in toward the end, but I like that in anything.

Click through for the recipe