I have a confession to make. I love soup. I love it for a lot of different reasons. I love it because it is so easy to make. Because I can put anything in a soup and it always tastes great. I love stocking my freezer with soup for easy dinner options. I love soup because my toddler loves soup and will eat a big bowl of vegetables without batting an eyelid.
But really, I love soup the most because I love bread. And what is soup without a big chunk (read: loaf) of dense, beautiful bread to dip in it?
This is one of our favourite soups at the moment. Seasonal veggies, delicious spices and always, always served with great bread.
Moroccan Inspired Pumpkin Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
1 Butternut pumpkin
1-2 Carrots
1 medium sweet potato
1 brown onion diced
1/2 cup of yellow split peas
1/2 cup of orange lentils
2 cloves of garlic minced
1-2 cinammon sticks
1 bay leaf
2-3 tsp cumin
1 ltr water
1 tbsp raw honey
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
plus herbs, croutons, chilli oil, natural yoghurt, seeds and any other delciousness to serve.
Method:
In a cast iron pot add onion, garlic, cumin and a pinch of both salt and pepper with a tsp of butter or oil (I use coconut oil). Cook until onion is soft and translucent.
Roughly chop the carrot, pumpkin and sweetpotato. I leave the skin on the carrot and sweet potato (just wash well before chopping) but remove the skin from the pumpkin.
Add the vegetables to the onion mix and stir well coating the vegetables in the onion and garlic. Add water, lentils, split peas. Put the pot back on the stove on a medium-low heat. Add the cinnamon and bayleaf and put the lid on. Cook on a low heat for 1 – 2 hours until vegetables are falling apart and the lentils and split peas are mushy and disintegrate easily. If your soup looks like it’s starting to dry out add a little more water (1 cup at a time) during the cooking process.
Take the pot off the stove and blitz with a hand blender or in a regular blender in small batches (once cooled slightly). Once blitzed return the soup to the stove and stir in honey. Once the soup is reheated it is ready to serve!
Serve soup with natural yoghurt, chilli oil, seeds and fresh coriander… and plenty of fresh bread, of course.
Do you have a favourite family soup recipe? Want to share?
Erin - Today in Wyoming the summer sun took a rest. With thunder storms and rain, I pedaled to the store and craved flavors of fall. I actually bought most of these ingredients only to come home and read your post. I think I am destined to try your soup this week;) I am a lover of bread and soups here as well! Can’t wait for cooler temperatures and dinners like this.
Claire T - This looks delicious. I have a big bag of soup mix containing lentils and grains and I have been wondering what base to cook them in and this sounds like a winner. Now I just need a cooler rainy day.
Brandee - Looks delicious! Almost enough to have me looking forward to fall! Now if only I could get my son to eat his veggies!!
Lilybett - My all-time fave is a roast pumpkin and carrot. Just roast the veg and then whiz them up with some stock. You can add sauteed onion or not. You can add extra flavour or not. I like to roast some cumin seeds with the veg. Or I add a dollop of Thai curry paste. Or I add a spoonful of pesto or sour cream or some roasted pepitas. Or all of the above.
Crusty bread is a must with pretty much every soup I’ve ever made or eaten.
Joanne P - Greetings from chilly London Sash!
I’ve had today off work and decided to spent it in my cosy kitchen cooking a myriad of dishes from my favourite blogs! What a treat too. I finished my day with a large warming bowl of this beautiful soup. It was fab.
Also, I was wondering if your TedX talk is available to watch online, as I would love to see it.
Many thanks,
Joanne P
Natalia - I love soups for the same reasons as you do 😉
Thank you for this recipe!