Winter Squash And Red Lentil Soup Food

CURRIED-SQUASH AND RED-LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Make soup:
• Heat oil with butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook squash, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, ginger, and 1 teaspoon salt, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Stir in curry powder and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes.
• Add lentils and water and simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, 25 to 40 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
• Make cilantro oil:
• Purée cilantro, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender.
• Serve soup drizzled with cilantro oil.

PURéED WINTER SQUASH AND RED LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil over medium heat in large, heavy soup pot. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute.
• Stir in turmeric, squash, red lentils and 2 quarts water. Turn up heat, add salt to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, skim off foam, cover and simmer 35 to 45 minutes, until squash and lentils are tender. Taste and adjust salt.
• Purée soup using an immersion blender or, working in batches, in a blender (pull a towel down over the top of blender to avoid hot splashes). Return to pot if using blender. Add black pepper, taste and adjust salt, and heat through.
• Just before serving, heat butter over medium heat in a small skillet or saucepan and add remaining 2 teaspoons mustard seeds and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds. Cook, stirring, until seeds are lightly colored and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir into soup.
• Serve with a generous dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of cilantro if desired.

SQUASH AND RED LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Peel, seed and dice the squash and roast with the rosemary sprigs and olive oil in a 200 C oven for 45 minutes.
• You want the total amount of diced squash to be about 2 pounds or 900g.
• Meanwhile, clean the lentils and then boil them for about 10 minutes.
• Drain the lentils, add the stock and the onion and simmer for five minutes.
• Mash the squash and stir into the soup.
• Season with salt and pepper and serve with a sprig of the roasted rosemary on top.

WINTER SQUASH, CHICKPEA & RED LENTIL STEW

Steps:

• Soak chickpeas in enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches for 6 hours or overnight. (Alternatively, use the quick-soak method: Place beans in a large pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour.) Drain when ready to use. If you like a very soft chickpea, use the quick method and let the chickpeas boil for five minutes in order to speed up the cooking process.
• Chef's note: Keep your squash and carrots large so that they can withstand the look cooking time without breaking down into the stew.
• Combine the soaked chickpeas, squash, carrots, onion, lentils, broth, tomato paste, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, salt, saffron and pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker.
• Put on the lid and cook on low until the chickpeas are tender and the lentils have begun to break down, about 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours.
• Chef's note: If you are planning to serve part of this as leftovers, remove that portion from the crock pot and scale the amount of lime juice accordingly. Reserve the rest of your lime to add after reheating the leftover stew.
• Stir in lime juice. Season with salt to taste.
• Serve over rice (white or brown) sprinkled with peanuts and cilantro.
• Place additional lime wedges on the side for diners to add as they wish.

SPICED LENTIL & BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or saucepan over a medium-high heat. Fry the onions with a pinch of salt for 7 mins, or until softened and just caramelised. Add the garlic, chilli and ras el hanout, and cook for 1 min more.
• Stir in the squash and lentils. Pour over the stock and season to taste. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 25 mins or until the squash is soft. Blitz the soup with a stick blender until smooth, then season to taste. To freeze, leave to cool completely and transfer to large freezerproof bags.
• Stir in the coriander leaves and ladle the soup into bowls. Serve topped with the dukkah, yogurt and extra coriander leaves.