Spiced Pumpkin & Chickpea Soup

Ingredients

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 900 g pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 3cm chunks
• 1 large onion, diced
• 20 g fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• salt and black pepper
• 1 lime, juiced
• 3 tbsp plain yogurt, to serve
• 15g fresh coriander, to serve
• Crusty sourdough bread, to serve
• Natural yoghurt, to serve

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook for 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until softened and just turning golden at the edges. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika and turmeric. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until the spices smell fragrant and toasty.
2. Add the pumpkin chunks and the rinsed red lentils, stirring to coat everything in the spiced base. Pour over the vegetable stock, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the pumpkin is completely tender and yields easily to a spoon.
3. Lift out roughly a third of the soup and set aside. Blend the remaining two-thirds until smooth and silky, then stir the reserved portion back through for a thick, chunky texture.
4. Tip in the chickpeas and simmer for a further 8 minutes to warm them through and let the flavours settle.
5. Squeeze in the lime juice. Taste and season generously with salt and black pepper — it should be warming, deeply spiced and just a little sharp.
6. Ladle into bowls, swirl over a spoonful of yogurt and scatter with fresh coriander leaves.