Winter warmer: spicy lentil and butternut soup

It can be hard work satisfying one's appetite in winter.  One seems to want bigger portions of everything and salads don't seem to cut it.  I find that pulses such as lentils really help to fill you up in the colder months.  Pulses are high in protein and fibre and, my favourite part... quite affordable.

This soup is warming in all kind of ways.  I love using whole cumin seeds- it just makes the spice a bit more noticeable.  It's a pretty simple all round soup, but it's a goodie. You have probably seen lots of versions of it so don't be too worried if you don't have one of the ingredients- this one is definitely not a science.



You'll need:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander
pinch of chilli flakes
1/2 pumpkin cut into chunks (butternut is delicious)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1L vegetable stock
1 cup red lentils
salt and pepper
1cm fresh ginger finely diced
2 tsp grated lemon rind and juice of 1 lemon
yoghurt and a handful of mint leaves to serve

To make:

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onions, garlic, spices and ginger and sweat until onion is soft.

Add pumpkin, lentils, crushed tomatoes, stock, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer until butternut and lentils are tender (about 30-40 minutes).

You are done!

Serve with a dollop of yoghurt and garnish with mint.