It may be officially spring but it’s pretty cold out there still! When I first made this soup I made it using a glut of squashes from the garden. but today I’ve made it with butternut squash I had in the freezer! You can use any type of squash or sweet potato for this (or a mixture!).
This is a calorie bargain at only 150 – 175 cals per portion, and super filling. It’s perfect for batch cooking if you’re stuck inside at the moment too.
As I said, you can use squash, pumpkin or sweet potato (or a mix) and you can also be a bit free and loose with the quantities to be honest – as long as you keep an eye on the amount of liquid and add a bit more stock if needed.
I made a massive batch so I could have it for a few days and also freeze some, but you could easily halve this. This recipe serves around 12-14.
You will need:
Approx 1,200g – 1,500g squash
3 medium red peppers (or 2 large)
2 onions
500g red lentils
4 cloves garlic
600g chopped tomatoes (passata also works fine or use fresh tomatoes)
1 litre vegetable stock (but you may need to add a little more as it cooks)
2 tbsp tomato purée
4 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp Chilli powder (or to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
To serve – fresh spinach and a dollop of greek yoghurt
Peel and de-seed the squash and then chop into small pieces (or use pre-chopped fresh or frozen squash).
Chop the onion and peppers and crush the garlic. Heat up a little oil in a pan and add the onions and crushed garlic, and allow to lightly brown. Then add the pepper.
Add the squash, stir well and cook for 5 mins with the lid on (stirring occasionally). The squash will start to release some water and begin to soften a little.
Add the chopped tomatoes and stir well. Then add the lentils, vegetable stock, spices and tomato purée and stir.
Bring to the boil and then allow to simmer for a few minutes with the lid off. Then reduce the heat further and put the lid on and allow to cook for at least 20 mins making sure you stir regularly so the lentils don’t stick. If it looks like it needs it then add a little more stock.
Season to taste and cook until the squash is tender and the lentils are cooked through. Remove from heat and at this point. If you like your soup chunky you can serve it now.
Alternatively you can blend it to a smooth consistency.
To serve stir through some fresh spinach and add a dollop of greek yoghurt!
Enjoy! 🙂
Xx
Every Step Fitness 