Soup is our go to make in advance meal in our house, I generally pick the busiest night of the week (usually when we have swimming) to ensure a batch is sitting in the fridge waiting to be heated and served in under 5 minutes. Pumpkin soup is my go to for cramming a ton of veggies into it, because if it’s orange and slightly tastes like pumpkin my kids will actually eat it!
This soup was created after I realised that no one in the house except me was going to eat parsnip, one day I chucked some in with a batch of soup and the end result was this delightfully creamy soup without a dash of dairy added to it. Personally, I love the carrot-y (they’re actually related to carrots and parsley!), nutty flavour and love adding them to vegetable mash or eating them roasted with olive oil and spices. Nutritionally, they contain a plethora of important minerals (calcium, iron, zinc and potassium), vitamins (vitamin C & K, folate, B6 and B5) and are rich in antioxidants and fibre (both insoluble and soluble).
This soup also contains broccoli stalk, which is also super nutritious but tends to get chucked out once the florets have been eaten. You won’t even notice it’s there will get extra nutrition as a result AND you’ll be reducing food waste at the same time, win win!
This soup will last 4-5 days once made, and freezes well. Enjoy! -Renee x
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 inch fresh ginger, finely chopped
1/2 inch fresh turmeric, finely chopped or 1/2 heaped tsp ground turmeric
2 celery sticks, finely sliced
1 large parsnip, cut into 2 cm pieces (approx. 300-400 grams)
1/2 medium butternut pumpkin; skin off, seeds removed and cut into 2 cm pieces (approx. 500 grams) (you can also use Jap pumpkin too)
1 1/2 tbs stock paste or powdered stock
3/4 cup split red lentils, rinsed and washed thoroughly
4 cups water (tap or filtered, not hot) or bone broth (just omit the stock paste)
2 tbs olive oil
1 broccoli stalk, roughly chopped
METHOD
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, celery, ginger and turmeric and sauté for 5 minutes until translucent.
Add remaining veggies and sauté for another 2 minutes.
Chuck in the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Drop the a medium heat, pop the lid on and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once cooked, taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Puree the soup with either a stick mixer or by processing in a blender/food processor/thermomix. Add extra water 1/2 cup at a time to reach desired consistency.
Top with our sumac seeded dukkah or cashew pesto. Serve as is or with a slice of toasted mountain bread, sourdough or gluten free bread.
