Recipe - Martha Shulmans Pumpkin And White Bean Soup

1 pound Navy or Great Northern beans
2 qt Water
1 Onion stuck with
2 Cloves
1 Bay leaf
2 One fourth teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Olive oil
2 md Leeks, white part only
washed well & minced
1 pound Pumpkin or winter squash
peeled and chopped
2 Garlic cloves, minced
Salt & pepper, to taste
6 Sage leaves, slivered

GARNISH
Additional sage leaves

Soak beans overnight in plenty of water to cover. Drain beans and combine
in a pot with the 2 quarts water, onion and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and
skim off any foam that rises. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
Add 2 tsp. salt; continue to simmer. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or
nonstick skillet over mediumlow heat and add the leeks. Cook, stirring,
until leeks soften, about 5 minutes. Add the pumpkin and garlic and
sprinkle with One fourth tsp. salt. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, stirring
often, until the pumpkin begins to soften. Ladle in some stock from the
beans. Stir together and transfer the pumpkin mixture to the bean pot.
Cover and simmer 30 to 50 minutes, until the beans are thoroughly tender,
even mushy. Taste; adjust salt and add pepper. Remove the bay leaf and
cloves from the onion. Return the onion to the soup. Put the soup through
the fine or medium blade of a food mill and return to the heat. Stir in the
slivered sage and heat through gently, stirring. Serve, garnishing each
bowl with additional fresh sage.