Roasted Butternut Squash Lentil Vegetable Soup

If it’s possible for a dish to be hearty but also, somehow, light, roasted butternut squash lentil vegetable soup is it! It’s a substantial bowl of comfort, rich in nutrition and protein, not heavy, just luscious!

You’re probably going to laugh (I did when I cut it open!) but I bought this butternut squash back in February and never got around to cooking it until, I kid you not, September. But to show you the longevity and storability of a butternut, it was absolutely perfect. 

We love it simply roasted with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper but the weather had turned a little chilly on us so I was craving soup. I added the lentils to up the protein content and it was a very good decision. And since I was using the urad dal, a little curry powder seemed like it would be another good addition. And, indeed, it was.

Roasted Butternut Squash Lentil Vegetable Soup

To make this vegetarian, use vegetable stock instead of chicken. I make mine from stock cubes. For a vegan soup, also skip the yogurt to serve or use a non-dairy version. Serves six. 

Ingredients

3 ½ oz or 100g red (masoor dal) or white (urad dal) lentils

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 butternut squash - small, medium, large - all good! 

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 medium onion – about 150g

2 cloves garlic

4 small carrots – about oz or 200g

8 oz or 227g new potatoes, scrubbed

2 teaspoons curry powder

4 cups or 946ml chicken (or vegetable) stock

Good pinch asafetida – if you have it

3 ½ oz or 100g baby spinach (I like to pinch off the stems but you can leave the leaves intact, if you prefer.)

For garnish: small handful cilantro, roughly chopped

Optional to serve: dollop plain yogurt per bowl

Method

Rinse the lentils. If you are using red lentils (masoor dal), carry on. If you are using the white ones (urad dal) they need to be soaked in water for 30 minutes. Rinse and soak, drain, then carry on.

Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C and prepare a baking pan by lining it with baking parchment or a silicone liner. 

Halve the butternut squash and scoop the seeds out. Cut the halves in half and put them on the prepared baking pan. Drizzle them with half the olive oil then sprinkle with fine sea salt and black pepper. 

Roast in your preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until they are fork tender. 

Set them aside to cool while you finish prepping the rest of your vegetables.

Peel and finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. 

Peel the carrots and cut them into short, bite-sized pieces.

Scrub or peel the new potatoes, as needed. I scrubbed mine then decided they needed to be peeled because they were looking a little scruffy. Sorry, no pics.

In a Dutch oven, add the remaining half of the olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Then, add in the curry powder and give it a stir to combine. 

Add in the stock and bring it to a low boil. 

Try the peel of your butternut squash. If it’s tender enough to eat, chop the whole thing into small bits. If it’s not, scoop the flesh out and discard the peels.

Put the squash into the Dutch oven along with lentils. If you have it, add the good pinch of asafetida now. When added to cooking lentils, it's said to help with the common side effect of eating them, flatulence. I can't say if that's true or not but I do always add it, just in case! 

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked and tender. 

Use a hand blender or normal blender to puree the soup at little, being careful not to splash yourself with hot liquid! I like to leave some bits of squash so I don’t puree until completely smooth. 

Add in the carrots and potatoes and cook for a further 30 or so minutes, or until they are both cooked through and tender. 

Add in the baby spinach. As per the note in the ingredients, as you can see, mine are sans stems.

Stir until the spinach is heated through and thoroughly wilted.

Serve the soup with a sprinkling of chopped cilantro and a dollop of plain yogurt, if desired.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with winter squash, sweet and savory, to celebrate the arrival of Autumn. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the link list below. 

• Apple & Butternut Squash Salad from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Creamy Sausage, Tomato, & Squash Pasta  from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Baked Acorn Squash with Butter and Brown Sugar from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Butternut Squash Cake from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Eggless Wholewheat Pumpkin Choco Chip Bread from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Gnocchi with Roasted Squash and Sausage from A Messy Kitchen
• Parmesan and Thyme Honeynut Squash from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pumpkin-Filled Flat White Pumpkin from Culinary Cam
• Pumpkin Soup for Two from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Butternut Squash Lentil Vegetable Soup from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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