Rustic Pumpkin Soup
October is a month of mists and mellow fruitfulness and the shops are full of colourful pumpkins and squashes. This month’s recipe is a warming soup that could be made with the flesh of a Halloween pumpkin or you could use a gorgeous butternut squash instead, either is delicious. The lentils add fibre and protein, making this a healthy and hearty meal, while the chilli and cumin add warm, mellow flavours. Just what you need on a cold Autumn evening. Enjoy with some toasted pumpkin seeds, swirling in a little yogurt if you have any and serve with some rustic bread. Scrumptious! Serves 3 -4
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large red onion, peeled and chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped or crushed 1-2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 500g pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
- 100g red split lentils, rinsed
- Salt and pepper
- Serve it with a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds, cayenne pepper, natural yogurt, and wholemeal seedy bread or a roll.
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat
- Add the onion, garlic and chilli
- Sauté, without browning, until soft
- Sprinkle in the ground cumin and oregano and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring, turning the heat down if necessary
- Add the stock, pumpkin or squash and lentils
- Stir, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until the lentils and pumpkin are tender
- Blitz the soup with a stick blender (or in batches in a liquidiser) until the desired smoothness. I quite like it a bit lumpy!
- Taste and season with salt and pepper. While the soup is cooking you could toast some pumpkin seeds. The easiest way is to heat a small frying pan, throw in the pumpkin seeds and let them sizzle. Keep stirring or they will burn. Once toasted, season with a little salt and cayenne pepper if you have any. Serve the soup in warmed bowls, swirl in the yogurt if using, followed by a sprinkling of the toasted pumpkin seeds. Enjoy with the rustic bread!
Melody x