I made Pumpkin and Red Lentil Soup
Ask any Aussie for their Pumpkin soup recipe
And you’ll probably get a different answer each time
This is mine
We buy one whole green skinned pumpkin
Hubby skins and cuts it up for me,
Some wedges for slicing and roasting,
Some in cubes for curry and soup
Yum…
The pressure cooker will feature
In cooking this yummy meal
Brown onions first with some light olive oil
Gentle heat no colour required
Slowly so slowly
As soon as they are soft I add warm water to cover
Bring back to heat
Cradled in a sieve the tiny red lentils are rinsed under running water
They join the onions in the bubbling pan
I wait for a while allowing the lentils to soften
Not long…
Pumpkin chunks follow with a small amount of gluten free vegetable stock powder
Lid on … waiting
Red valve lifts, pressure building… waiting, waiting
A soon as it’s hissing steam like a New Zealand golf course
I switch off the heat and leave it until the hissing stops and the red valve settles
Opening the lid is very satifying already the soup smells great
But we’re not finished yet
Now for pungent spices, little by little
Smoky paprika and allspice
A pinch of sea salt
I allow nose and palate to dictate how much
Smoky Paprika has a mild woody sweet heat
Allspice – the fragrance of Christmas or Tudor feasts
Finally, very carefully I use a stick blender
To reduce the pan full of goodness
To a smooth creaminess
The spices darken the pumpkin soup a little
But for fragrance and taste – gorgeous
I like to make a large pan of soup
To tuck away in the fridge for snack raids and lunches
Roughly I use .75 cup of red lentils to 1.5-2 kilos of pumpkin
I serve with a dollop of Tofutti, the closest I can get to cream
Soured cream would give an extra sharpness
Recipes, Words and Pictures © Denise Stanford 2010
Within the Vine 
