Contributed by Lisa - Urban Harvest

This is an extremely warming, nourishing soup for fall/winter meals.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp cumin seeds
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small pumpkin, peeled, seeded + chopped
1 med carrot, diced
1 med onion, chopped
2 leeks, chopped (optional)
1 celeriac, peeled + chopped (optional)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup lentils, washed + soaked (1 hour+)
4-8 cups veg stock
1-2 Tbsp tamari
1 tsp red chili flakes (or to taste)
1-2 tsp curry powder
Sea salt & fresh-ground pepper

Instructions

Heat a heavy-bottomed soup pot to medium-heat, and then add cumin seeds. Heat cumin seeds (shaking gently, to prevent burning) until fragrant and lightly toasted. Remove, and grind in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle.

Heat oil in pot, and saute onions 5 minutes.

Add cumin, curry powder, chili flakes, leeks, garlic, carrot, and pumpkin, and toss to coat with oil. Saute 5 minutes more.

Drain lentils, and mix in to pot, stirring to coat. Saute 5 min more.

Add 4 cups soup stock and tamari, and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 1 hour, or until lentils are soft. Add extra stock as needed/desired.

Mash slightly with a potato masher, and season to taste. Serve with steamed greens, home-made croutons, and/or freshly-grated parmesan. A dollop of plain, unsweetened yogurt is a nice finish as well.

Read more recipes