Rather than growing a carving pumpkin, I prefer to grow squash as they’re a bit more tasty than standard carving pumpkins. I’m also all about the guts, so in this recipe I’m using the whole of the edible pumpkins, with just the inedible stalk and pumpkin bum, aka the blossom end, left for the compost bin. I keep the skin of the butternut squash on the flesh – this helps save time, and prevent unnecessary food waste, but also a lot of people injure themselves when peeling squash so let’s keep the gore to fake blood.
This is also perfect to make if you are cooking something else in the oven already. You can roast the vegetables in advance, and then when you are ready turn them into the soup at a later time – just allow everything to come back to the boil for a few minutes before blending.
If you don’t have a squash to hand but still want to make this soup you can opt for pre-prepared butternut squash from the freezer which can be more convenient for some people. If this is the case try using green pumpkin seeds you can buy in the shops.
Squash and pumpkins are excellent sources of beta-carotene, which our body converts into vitamin A. We need this vitamin to help maintain healthy skin, a healthy immune system, and also help our eyes to see in the dark! Or at least that’s what the kid’s like to hear most often!
I love serving my soup with some tomato cheese on sourdough toast! It’s such a treat, and helps make this soup a balanced meal.
Makes 6 generous servings
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash, cut into large chunks – mine was 1.3kg once I had prepared it
- 3 onions, quartered
- 1 head of garlic, the very top removed
- 2.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 150g red lentils
- 1 stock cube, I used a vegetable one
- Herbs for garnishing e.g. flat-leaf parsley or chives
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/ GM6
- To a large baking tray, add the cubed butternut squash, quartered onions, garlic bulb, and 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Mix to evenly coat everything with oil, and place the garlic in the middle of the tray to prevent it from burning. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes till the veg start to turn golden brown.
- Meanwhile, prepare the squash seeds by placing the squash “guts” into a bowl and adding some water. Loosen the seeds from the stringy flesh before placing on a clean teatowel to thoroughly dry. Place the seeds into a small baking tray, adding the remaining half tbsp extra virgin olive oil and mixing to evenly coat. Place the tray at the bottom of the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes till deep golden in colour and crispy.
- While the veg is roasting, bring around 600ml water to the boil and add the lentils and stock cube. Cook the lentils for around 10 minutes till soft.
- Once the veg is cooked, add it to the pan with the now cooked lentils, and squeeze the garlic out of the paper. Deglaze the pan with boiling water, and then top up the water in the pan so it covers the vegetables. In total, you will need to add around 1.8l of water. Bring everything back to a boil and cook for 5 minutes before blending into a soup of your desired consistency, adding more water to thin the soup if desired, and seasoning with pepper to taste.
- Serve the soup piping hot, dressed with a little extra olive oil if desired, and scattered with fresh herbs and crispy seeds.
Per serving*: 285kcal/ 8.1g fat/ 1.2g saturated fat/ 37g carbohydrates/ 11g fibre/ 11g protein
*nutritional analysis using pumpkin seeds, which are different to the seeds found in a squash
Dr Pippa 