Roast Pumpkin and Lentil Soup

As fall draws nearer, there’s little more satisfying than a lovely warming bowl of homemade pumpkin soup. This roast pumpkin and lentil soup is both filling and nutritious. And as usual, this recipe is designed to work with the low-GI diet.

If you’re unsure about eating Pumpkin, it has a high GI of 75, but a GL of 3. This means that as long as you only eat one portion of pumpkin, it shouldn’t significantly affect your blood sugar levels. But, eating a large amount could drastically increase your blood sugar. So, as with all foods, enjoy pumpkin in moderation.

Serves: 6-8

Preparation Time: 15 minutes 

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 – 1.5 kg pumpkin
• 1 cup small dark lentils
• Saffron strands (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Sour cream, yoghurt, or creme fraiche (1 teaspoon per serving)
• 1 teaspoon of chopped coriander for garnish
• Salt and pepper
• Multigrain sourdough to serve with

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 °F / 180 °C
• Dice the pumpkin into small 1/2 inch (1 cm) cubes after removing the skin and seeds
• Put in a heavy-based baking dish and cover with the stock and wine, adding chopped garlic cloves and saffron
• Cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Watch the stock and make sure it doesn’t completely dry up. If it does, add a little water
• Remove from oven and pour into a stockpot. Add boiling water so it is about half water, half pumpkin/lentil mix
• Reboil, then turn down to a simmer
• Cook for a further 20 minutes
• Taste lentil to make sure it is cooked and soft
• Remove from heat and whiz with an electric blender stick, or pour into a blender or food processor and puree.
• Serve with a teaspoon of creme fraiche (or yoghurt/ sourcream – whatever you have handy), add a small amount of coriander, plus salt and pepper to taste, and thin slices of crusty multigrain sourdough bread.

Credit, this recipe was inspired by this original recipe.