I woke up with the intention of cooking today. There were lots of veggies ready for the knife - some were at their peek and some needed to be used up. The grey sky and intermittent rain most of the day made the kitchen seem like the right place to be.

The bursting red tomatoes, red peppers, red onion and cucumber went in to another batch of gazpacho. So much tastier than its ingredients suggest. (For recipe, see blog dated 15 Feb 2022, titled ‘A Resurgence Of The Sun And Heat Makes This Gazpacho Refreshing and Cooling!) A Japanese pumpkin, brown onion, ginger, garlic, chilis and sprouted brown lentils with homemade stock made up the soup below. I cooked down the eggplants, zucchinis, pumpkin skins and seeds, coriander stalks, vegetable cut offs, soaked shiitake mushrooms, garlic, peppercorns and kelp seaweed for a new batch of vegetable stock. (For recipe, see blog dated, 15 February 2022, titled ‘When It’s Cool And Wet, Add Pizzaz To Soup Stock And Turn Ob The Oven For Crispy Dried Anchovies’).

Today’s soup recipe came from my friend Kathy. As I had general amounts, I guessed the amounts below which seemed to work but feel free to adjust according to your taste. Instead of using red lentils as instructed, I sprouted brown lentils. Next time, I will try red lentils and see if the texture and taste is better or simply different. If you want to substitute red lentils for brown, go ahead and if you are not interested in sprouting, simply soak the brown lentils overnight and add them straight to the soup.

Spicy Pumpkin And Sprouted Brown Lentil Soup

Ingredients

1 Japanese pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and chopped

1 cup raw brown lentils

2 brown onions

6-8 cloves garlic, peeled

2 inches of fresh garlic peeled and thickly sliced

2 red chillis (optional)

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

1/4 tsp brown mustard seeds

1 heaping tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

6-8 cups homemade soup stock (no salt or fats added)

handful of fresh cilantro, finely chopped (for topping)

1 scallion, finely sliced (for toppi

1 wedge of fresh lime or lemon, per bowl

Method

If sprouting brown lentils, start about 3-4 days ahead. Wash brown lentils and take out any rocks or irrregular bits. Soak 1/2 cup of beans each in two, 1 litre mason jars with sprouting lids; place ample filtered water to cover the beans and leave overnight. The following morning, drain the water and leave on the counter. Rinse night and morning until your beans have sprouted. By the second day you should start to see tiny shoots and by day 4, your sprouts should be thick and prominent. If your sprouts are ready before you make the soup, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator preferably not more than one day to ensure freshness.

Prepare the pumpkin by cutting it in half. Remove the skin on both halves with a sharp knife. Remove the seeds and inner pulp. Slice the pumpkin in to slices and then chop in to medium sized pieces. Set aside. Peel, slice and chop the onions and set aside.

Wash the chilli, trim off the stems and roughly chop and add to a mort. Peel the garlic and ginger and add to the chilli. Pound and grind until you have a paste and no individual ingredient remains.

Heat a large soup pot and add the mustard seeds until they start to pop. Add the pounded spice paste and a ladleful or two of soup stock to keep the spices from sticking and burning. Add the onions and cumin and turmeric powders. Stir, cover and let cook for several minutes on a medium to low heat. Add the chopped pumpkin and stir through the spices. Add the lentils and 6-8 cups of homemade soup stock. The stock should just cover the vegetables and beans so adjust the amount accordingly.

Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. With a wooden spoon, mash most of the pumpkin against the side of the pot to thicken the soup. Adjust the salt and pepper if needed.

Serve with chopped fresh coriander, thinly sliced scallions and a wedge of lime or lemon. The citrus lifts and brightens the soup and tempers the sweetness of the pumpkin.

Enjoy!