[Recipe] Hearty Kabocha and red lentil soup

The kabocha and red lentil soup is hearty and delicious and has a beautiful bright orange hue!

Kabocha is a Japanese pumpkin that can be cooked and used the same way the pumpkin can. However, I find that it cooks more quickly than pumpkin and the flesh gets very soft when cooked, making it a great base for pureed soups and gnocchi. I find the taste richer and slightly sweeter than the butternut squash. The squash is easily found at Asian grocery stores in Toronto.

I also like to saute it with minced meat and garlic for a quick weeknight meal.

Japanese pumpkin

I have used red lentils in the recipe which not only adds texture and colour to the soup, it cooks quickly with no pre-soaking required.

Roasting the Kobocha

I pureed the squash and left the red lentils as is for texture, but feel free to puree the soup for a silky finish.

I have used homemade chicken stock in the recipe, but feel free to use vegetable stock to make this a fully vegetarian soup. I have topped the soup with sour cream, toasted pine nuts and a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil.

Hearty Kabocha and red lentil soup

Course Soup

Servings 8 people

Author Mary Tang

Ingredients

3 cloves of garlic minced
1 medium shallot minced
2 pounds of the kabocha squash makes about 3 cups pureed
Pinch of salt Add more as needed
1 tbsp herbs de Provence
5 tbsp Canola oil Separated. 2 tbsp to rub on the squash, 3 for sauteing. Add more as needed
1 tsp of butter Add more as needed
1 cup of red lentils
7 cups of chicken stock Separated 4 cups, and 3 cups
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of ground coriander
½ tsp of tumeric
½ tsp of fresh ground black pepper
2 bay leaves

Instructions

Mince the garlic and shallots, and set aside.
Leaving the skin on, cut the kabocha into quarters. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine oil, salt, and herbs de Provence. Rub the flesh of each kabocha with the mixture. Roast on a baking tray for 45 minutes, or until the flesh is soft and can be scooped with a spoon. Blend the squash until smooth. Reserve 3 cups of the puree for the soup.
In a pot, add oil and butter to soften the shallots and the garlic. Add the red lentils followed by 4 cups of stock and the bay leaves. After the boil, let the stock simmer. The lentils will absorb most of the stock. This will take about 10 minutes.
Keep the soup simmering. Add in the pureed squash and add in the ground cumin, coriander and turmeric. Add in the remaining stock followed by salt and black pepper. Taste and add more seasoning if needed.
Stir the soup, remove the bay leaves and serve.