Thick Potato Soup with Pumpkin from Soup: A Way of Life by Barbara Kafka

Ingredients

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ¼ pound (120 g) queso blanco cheese, or mozzarella, coarsely grated, for serving
• 2 teaspoons Annatto Butter
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter
• 1 pound (450 g) firm potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch (.5-cm) dice
• 1 pound (450 g) fresh kidney beans, shelled, or 1 cup (225 g) drained and rinsed canned kidney beans, optional
• 2 ears fresh corn, shucked and silk removed, each cob cut across into 6 pieces
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, to taste
• 1½ cups (375 ml) milk
• 3½ pounds (1.5 kg) soup pumpkin or acorn or Hubbard squash, cut into 8 wedges, seeded, and peeled, each section cut across into ¼-inch (.5-cm) slices