Butternut Squash Chili

Back in Pilsen for the new year. January 2020. The apartment in the new year has its own version of the new-year quality: the recipe notebook on the shelf, the book draft on the laptop, the cast iron on the stove, the rosemary olive oil from Ryan's grandmother on the counter next to the olive oil from the international market. The kitchen in order. The year beginning.

School resumes Monday. I went in Sunday to set the room back up after break — the visual schedule needs to be updated with the new month, the January dates put on the calendar, the snack basket restocked. I stood in Room 108 on a quiet Sunday afternoon and said the kids' names out loud again, the same thing I did in July, because I need to say them in the space. They will be there in the morning, Isabel with her crown and her tablet, Mateo with his walker, the others in their various specific particular ways. I will be there with coffee from the secondhand maker. The room is ready. Monday is ready.

The literary agent called on Thursday. She wants to see the full manuscript. This is the thing agents say when they want to see the full manuscript and it means something specific: she read the fifty pages and she wants the rest. I called Kristin. She said "Write faster." I said I know. I have been writing faster. I have the chapter on Babcia Rose's kitchen and the chapter on Pilsen and the chapter on the classroom and the chapter on Jess. I need three more chapters, maybe four. I can do this. I am going to do this.

Made ribollita this week — the Tuscan bread soup, which is essentially minestrone made twice (ribollita means "re-boiled"): vegetables and beans and stale bread and Parmesan rind, cooked together until thick and deeply flavored. Under three dollars. This is January food: substantial, complex from patience rather than effort, warm from the inside and warming the apartment from the kitchen. I ate it every day for five days. I wrote a chapter while it simmered. I wrote about Babcia Rose and the two-burner hotplate in 1958 and the recipes she brought in her head from Poland. The ribollita was still going when I finished the chapter. It was the right soup for the right night.

Ribollita is the dream, but on weeks when the stale bread runs out and the Parmesan rind is already gone, this butternut squash chili is the soup that carries the same energy — thick, warming, complex from patience rather than effort, and cheap enough that I can eat it every day until Friday without guilt. It was the kind of week where the manuscript needed three more chapters and the classroom needed setting up and the literary agent was waiting, and I needed something I could put on the stove and ignore for an hour while I worked. This delivered. It is January food in exactly the right way.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small butternut squash (about 2 lbs), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt and black pepper to taste
Sour cream, shredded cheese, or sliced scallions for serving (optional)

Instructions

Saute the aromatics. Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red bell pepper and cook 2 minutes more.
Add the squash and spices. Stir in the butternut squash cubes, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and cayenne (if using). Cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring to coat everything in the spices.
Build the base. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth. Stir to combine, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot.
Add the beans and simmer. Stir in the black beans and kidney beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover loosely and simmer for 30–35 minutes, until the squash is completely tender and the chili has thickened.
Season and serve. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, cheese, or scallions as desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Butternut Squash Chili — The Soup That Keeps Going While You Write