Red Lentil, Pumpkin and Lime Pickle Soup - Chef Recipe by Ross Dobson

Ingredients

Lime (or mango) pickle is one of the tastiest things to have on hand. Not only is it a spicy and sweet condiment to serve with curries, it's pretty good with crackers and cheddar too! And a few tablespoons of chopped lime pickle stirred through a soup really make it dance with zesty flavour.

1 1/2 cups split red lentils
6 cups salt-reduced vegetable stock
2 Tbs chopped Indian lime pickle
500g pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
1 Tbs olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large tomato, finely chopped
Handful mint leaves
Handful dill sprigs

Method

Heat your slow cooker to High.

Combine the lentils, stock and lime pickle in the bowl of the slow cooker. Cover and cook for 2 hours.

Working quickly to avoid losing too much heat, stir through the pumpkin and season generously with salt. Cover and cook for a further 2 hours, until both the lentils and pumpkin are soft. Turn the slow cooker down to Low and keep covered.

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add the onion and cook for 8–10 minutes, until golden. Stir in the cumin seeds and cook for 1 minute, until the cumin pops and sizzles. Tip the spicy onions into the soup and stir through, along with the chopped tomato. Add pepper to taste – and a little more salt, if needed.

Serve the soup in small bowls, garnished with the herbs.

Credits: Images and Text from The Healthy Slow Cooker by Ross Dobson, Photography by Jeremy Simons, styling by Vanessa Austin. Murdoch Books RRP $35.00.

Photo Credits: Jeremy Simons.