This is an amazing soup. Other than a little olive oil, the soup is made primarily with fresh vegetables and plenty of spice. I was surprised that a soup this creamy was made without any milk, cream or butter. The vegetables and red lentils are cooked until soft then pureed to create a lovely, thick, hearty and filling simple main course.
Lentils are another one of those super foods providing protein and fiber as well as two essential amino acids. Lentils have been named one of the top five healthiest foods by Health Magazine.
You’ll need to spend some quality time honing your knife skills preparing the vegetables. Everything is diced small for quick and effective cooking.
Once complete, garnish the soup with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a sprinkle of paprika and fresh chopped parsley.
Serve with warm pitas or flatbread for a completely wonderful meatless-Monday meal!
Sauteed butternut squash is the base for this smooth, flavorful soup thickened with protein rich red lentils and fresh vegetables.
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 medium carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 small butternut squash diced, about 1 lb weighed after peeled and seeds removed
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 6 cups vegetable stock or broth
- 1 cup red lentils
- parsley and paprika for garnish
- Heat olive oil in a large 6-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, carrots, celery and onion. Cook stirring frequently until lightly caramelized, about 12-15 minutes.
- Add the cumin, crushed red pepper, squash, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the squash is soft, about 15 minutes.
- Add the stock and lentils and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, slightly covered until the lentils are very soft and all vegetable are tender.
- Remove the soup from the heat and puree the soup using a stick/immersion blender or carefully process in batches in a blender until creamy smooth.
- Serve the soup garnished with fresh chopped parsley, paprika and lemon wedges squeezed on top.
- Serve with warm pitas or flatbread and lemon wedges.
Adapted from a recipe published in a December 2013 issue of Saveur Magazine.
We are lucky to have a nice couple that live just down the road, and each year they grow pumpkins to sell to anybody that wants to pick a few. We spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon with our grandson Isaac and our daughter Allie picking pumpkins to carve for Halloween.
Allie is our pumpkin artist and this year she selected six (6) to carve! This one is so big – I know it will be great. The owners of the farm provide clippers and wheelbarrows and set you free to pick away. Isaac was giving it his best effort to drive the wheelbarrow but had no luck getting it to the truck.
A beautiful day, on a beautiful farm, with pumpkins as far as the eye can see! Most are still covered up by grass – you’ve never seen so many and all are reasonably priced. They grew one 80 pound pumpkin and sold it for $15. They are so sweet!
Have you ever picked your own pumpkins? This is such a fun outing especially with Isaac and Allie. They are a blast! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Tricia
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Pumpkin picking looks so fun! With the heat in FLA, I don’t even bother carving pumpkins, they spoil too quickly. I looooooooove that you added lentils to make this soup over the top nutritious!
I bet it is still hot down there. Thanks for sharing on Facebook Kari!
Tricia, just wanted you to know, my husband LOVED this soup! It is going to be a recipe to keep & have again! 😀 What wonderful flavors! AND so healthy too! THANK YOU!! 😀 (I paired it with an Onion & Sage Focaccia Bread! WOW!) 😀
Yeah! Thanks for letting me know Becky. Don’t you just love how healthy it is and still full of flavor? Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
I love pumpkin picking and it looks like you had a great time! This is a lovely and warming fall soup and the color looks so pretty.
Thanks Amy – it is a filling and satisfying soup. Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Its’ funny Tricia, I made a zucchini and lentil soup the other day, except the colors are not as pretty as your soup. And your grandson is so cute!
I bet it was tasty though!
Years ago I grew my own pumpkins but I’ve never gone to a farm like that where I could choose from a gazillion. What a lovely family to have for a neighbor!
It is a fun family outing Maureen. Have a great week!
Beautiful soup! Butternut and red lentil is my “go-to” soup for winter- I always keep containers in my freezer to take for lunch. 🙂 Those are some pretty pumpkins!
Hey Betty – they still have pumpkins if you want to visit them on Chancellor Road. Enjoy!
This looks amazing! AND I almost have all of the ingredients! I love soup at this time of year!
Hope you love it like we do. Such a rich flavor without the fatty ingredients. Have a good week!
I just made butternut squash soup recently and my husband loved it. This recipe looks even more hearty with the red lentils in it. What a great idea!
Your grandson is adorable 😉 How wonderful to have that pumpkin farm so near.
My husband loved this one too. I was amazed at the rich flavor. Hope you have a good week!
the color- the flavor is amazing and nothing cuter than that little man with those pumpkins! Your pictures are so beautiful
My grandson is a mess Jessica! The flavor and color is great in this soup. Thanks for stopping by!
This lentil soup looks amazing with all the healthy veggies, Tricia. I love the golden autumn colour.
I literally just made curried red lentil soup a few days ago! I’m with you at being amazed and impressed by all the creamy soups we can make w/o any dairy thanks to these wonderful vegetables. I would welcome a big pot of this right now…can’t have too much soup once the weather turns cold. It makes me feel warm and cozy just looking at your gorgeous pics.
This soup is beautiful Tricia, such vibrant color. I love soups like this that are cream and delicious with just lots of veggies. Your day in the pumpkin patch looks wonderful, that Isaac just keeps getting cuter and cuter!
Hi Tricia, as you probably know I am a total lentil fiend, love this soup. Also the pics of your grandson in the fields are priceless!
O.K., it looks like my comment didn’t go through earlier. So, here’s what I said—-I will HAVE TO try this recipe! It looks WONDERFUL! (as usual) 🙂 Tonight we’re having a Deer Stew. AND yes, we have been pumpkin picking! It is a FUN ACTIVITY for a family! Kids LOVE IT! Do show us your daughter’s talent with Pumpkin carving? 😀
Tricia, just to let you know….When I hit submit to my comment, (I’m not even sure it went through) this thing told me I was making comments too quickly & to slow down. I ONLY did that one comment. LOL Just thought you might like to know, incase this shows a problem.
you know when that much fresh goodness goes into a soup it just has to be good… it looks superb and I love the spices in here too… gorgeous autumnal soup x
That is an amazing soup indeed Tricia and it looks like you guys had so much fun picking pumpkins!