Curried Pumpkin and Lentil soup - Vegan

Curried Pumpkin and Lentil soup - Vegan

A sure fire hit in the cooler months, this deliciously healthy soup has all the creamy warmth you want from a lentil curry, while still being kind to your waistline.

As with the Bolognese I use a slow cooker for this recipe, but you could easily make this on the stove with a large soup or stock pot. The preparation at the beginning of this recipe is what gives this soup such a delicious blend of flavours. When frying spices be sure that they don't burn and you want to cook them for long enough that it starts to smell warm and aromati. This process awakens the true flavours that would be lost if thrown in with the water at the end.

I use red organic lentils that come dried. I don't bother to soak them first because the slow cooker takes care of that, but if I were going to cook on the stove I would probably soak them for a few hours (or even overnight) before using. It is possible to use brown lentils or even what you can get in a can. Just be sure to rinse them thoroughly before using.

I like to eat my soup with a nice thick slice of bread. I purchased a lovely Artisan loaf at the markets on Saturday that was flavoured with potato and rosemary which worked tremendously well with this dish. For maximum yum butter the bread and place under the grill (broiler) for 5 minutes to give it that crunch that works so well with a hearty soup.

Enjoy!

Serves - about 6

1/2 Large Pumpkin*
1 cup red lentils
3 teaspoons of Marsala
garlic to taste
1/2 white onion
1 cup coconut milk
6 cups of water (approx)
1 tblspn oil (I used coconut oil for this recipe)

In a small bowl, combine Marsala with a teaspoon or two of water to create a paste.

Dice onion and garlic.

Chop Pumpkin into small-medium sized chunks.

Heat oil and add garlic. Cook for 2 minutes and then add Marsala.

Fry lightly until aromatic (about 3 minutes).

Add onion and cook until translucent.

Add 1/2 cup water and bring to boil.

Add pumpkin coat with onion mix. Put lid on fry pan and allow to steam for 5 minutes.

Add lentils and pumpkin mix to a slow cooker (I used a 5.5l slow cooker for this recipe).

Add coconut milk and stir through.

Pour 3 cups of water into the pan used to cook the pumpkin. Bring this to the boil, scraping around the pan to ensure any 'flavour bits' stuck to the sides of the pan come off in the water, creating a light stock. Bring to a boil.

Add stock and top up with more water until all ingredients are covered.

Stir through and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Put lid on slow cooker and cook for 2-3 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low.

Serve with crusty bread, a teaspoon of Parmesan**, salt and pepper and a smile.

* I used a mix of Jap and Butternut for this recipe

** Other than the garnish this dish is 100% vegan friendly. A nice vegan alternative would be to use recipe such as this which is a satisfying and relatively easy to construct alternative.