Pumpkin and Red Lentil Soup

Written by Catherine Saxelby on Wednesday, 22 September 2021.
Tagged: healthy cooking, healthy eating, healthy recipe, nutrition, soup

Pumpkin and Red Lentil Soup

A versatile and nutritious vegetable, pumpkin is a rich source of beta-carotene, from which it gets its lovely golden colour. The body converts beta-carotene to vitamin A, which is important for good eyesight. Currently, beta-carotene is being studied for its antioxidant properties. You’ll get heaps of antioxidants from this hearty soup.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 onions, chopped, or 1 leek, thickly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1 kg pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced (about 700 g diced pumpkin)
  • 1 carrot, cut into chunks
  • 1 potato, cut into chunks
  • 1/2 cup (125 g) red lentils
  • 6 cups water or low-salt vegetable stock
  • TO SERVE:
  • thick Greek yoghurt
  • chopped parsley
  • 8 thick slices multigrain bread

Nutrition per serve

1 serve of soup (including 1 slice bread) = 880 kJ (210 Cal), 9 g protein, 6 g fat (including 2 g saturated fat), 28 g carbohydrate (including 8 g sugars), 6 g fibre, 173 mg sodium.

Directions

    1. Heat the oil in a large frypan over high heat. Sauté the onion, garlic and curry powder for 2–3 minutes until the onion has softened. Add the lentils to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute then remove from the heat.
    2. In a slow cooker or crockpot, add the cubed pumpkin, carrot and potato, along with the water or stock. Add the contents of the pan to the slow cooker. Set to high and turn up the heat.
    3. Alternatively, you can add all the ingredients including the water or stock to a large saucepan and then bring to the boil.
    4. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour, or 30 minutes if using a saucepan, until the vegetables are very tender.
    5. Purée the mixture using a hand blender, or in 3 or 4 batches in a food processor or blender, if using.
    6. When ready to serve, reheat the soup gently. Serve in bowls, topped with a spoonful of the yoghurt, sprinkled with the parsley and with a thick slice of bread alongside.

    • Variations

    • Note: To give my soups more flavour, I always add 1–2 stalks of parsley to the pot. I also add celery, if I have it.

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