Pumpkin Lentil Soup

11/18/2015

Pumpkin Lentil Soup

Can you guys believe that we're only a week away from Thanksgiving?! It's my favorite holiday ever and I'm super excited. It's also finally started cooling down in LA, so I feel like it's officially time to get in the spirit with some cozy Fall recipes. This Pumpkin Lentil Soup is the epitome of Fall and would be a great addition to your Thanksgiving spread. At our Thanksgiving, we always do a round of appetizers before sitting down for our dinner feast, and my Aunt serves her delicious butternut squash soup in cute little shot glasses. Whether you serve this in a nice big bowl or in a cute shot glass, all you need to do is top it with some pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, and pomegranate seeds for the perfect festive touch.

There are tons of pumpkin soup recipes out there, and many of them include some sort of dairy, whether it be milk, cream, or yogurt. This Pumpkin Lentil Soup is completely dairy-free, yet it still has a silky smooth consistency that is so delicious. It's full of protein, fiber, vitamins, and most importantly, flavor! I chose to use a hand-blender to puree the soup, but it would also be delicious if you left it a little more rustic and chunky with the full lentils and chopped onions. Whatever you prefer, you can't go wrong!  Let's get to the recipe shall we . . .

Ingredients
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 Dorot frozen garlic cubes (or 3 chopped cloves of garlic)
1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin
1 cup dry red lentils* (rinsed)
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 tbsp honey
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup (or up to 1 cup) unsweetened almond milk
Garnish: pumpkin seeds, pomegranate seeds, honey, cinnamon

Serves 4.

- Heat olive oil in a large pot, then sautee onion until it becomes more translucent. Add garlic. Sautee.
- Add pure pumpkin, dry red lentils, water, and vegetable broth. Stir together.
- Add cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, honey, and salt and pepper. Stir.
- Bring soup to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover for about 15 minutes or until lentils are cooked through.
- Using a hand-blender, start to puree the soup. Or, you can transfer the ingredients from the pot to a
standard blender, but make sure to do small batches at a time.
- As you puree the soup, start to add the almond milk. Start with a half cup and if you prefer to thin it out a bit more, keep adding more almond milk until you reach the desired consistency.
- Taste test to make sure it is seasoned well. Salt and pepper are very important!
- Transfer to bowls and garnish with pumpkin seeds, pomegranate seeds, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a drizzle of honey.
- Get cozy and enjoy! :)

*Quick tip about using dry lentils - make sure to comb through the lentils before you rinse and cook them. Rumor has it that sometimes you can find little rocks or pieces that shouldn't be in there. Once you comb through them, just rinse in a fine strainer and then you can go ahead and cook them!

Hope you love this recipe as much as we did! Happy almost-Thanksgiving!