Soak the salt cod in water for 24 hours (or even up to 48 hours if you want a very mild salt cod flavor), changing the water every 6-8 hours. Each time the water should be less and less salty, at the end cut the cod into medium sized pieces (if it doesn’t come already cut).
Cook the diced butternut squash (or kabocha) and fresh squash/zucchini with better, add just enough water to cover them, cook until they are very tender. Save the water from cooking the squash and other veggies if you would like to use it (in place or in addition to the milk in the recipe)
Boil the shredded cabbage with a small amount of water for about 3 minutes.
In a food processor or blender, add the cooked squashes, the cooked rice, and the cooked cabbage. Blend until you have a thick puree, you can add some of veggie broth or water from cooking them, if it’s very thick.
In a sauce pan, bring water to boil, add the pieces of soaked and desalted cod, and cook on a low/medium boil for about 8-10 minutes.
Blend the roasted peanuts with 2 cups of milk, save until ready to add to the soup.
To begin cooking the soup, in a large stock pot or soup pot, heat the butter over medium heat to make a refrito or base for the soup. Add the onions, garlic, achiote, cumin, oregano and pepper and cook until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the squash, rice and cabbage puree and mix well.
Add 2 to 4 cups of milk and mix well.
Add the peanut paste, fava beans, corn, green peas, lima beans and cannellini beans (and any of the other optional ingredients: cooked lentils, garbanzos, mellocos, etc)
Mix well and let simmer for about 15 minutes, stir frequently to avoid the ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Add the salt cod, lightly shredded (for a full flavor cod fanesca) or just a small amount for a more mild favor. If just adding a little bit of the cod, save the rest for later, then sauté it and serve a little with each bowl of soup.
At this point you want to taste the soup and add salt if needed, how much you need will depend on the whether you add the salt cod to the soup or not (as well as how well you soaked and rinsed the cod). Keep in mind that you will be adding queso fresco (or feta) at the end so don’t oversalt the soup.
About 5 to 10 minutes before serving, add the chochos or lupini beans, the cream and the cheeses, stir to help the cheeses dissolve.
Add the chopped cilantro or parsley and stir well. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed.