Spicy winter vegetable soup
SERVES 6 / PREPARATION 20 MINUTES / COOKING 50 MINUTES
This soup uses harissa paste as the base and there is quite a bit in there, so you need a harissa with a capsicum base such as Sabato’s Julie le Clerc, Culleys or Peplers. If you have a more intense chilli-based version, you will need a lot less and you could add some drained, chopped, grilled capsicum if you like. For anyone who likes a more meatyflavoured soup, add a browned-off lamb shoulder chop when you are simmering the lentils, then cut the meat off the bone in small pieces to add back to the soup.
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon smoked or flaky salt
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
500g pumpkin, cut into 1cm cubes
2 medium kūmara, cut into 1cm cubes
2 medium golden beetroot, cut into
½cm cubes
2 carrots, cut in ½cm cubes 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons harissa paste
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
1000ml vegetable stock
½ cup green lentils
¼ cup finely chopped fresh coriander
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil flat-leafed parsley oil to fry
Heat the oven to 180℃.
Put one teaspoon of the cumin, the coriander seeds, turmeric, chilli flakes and ½ teaspoon of the salt in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to a rough powder. Put in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the chickpeas and stir to coat. Spread out on a baking tray and bake for about 30 minutes until crunchy, stirring occasionally. Set aside. Raise the oven heat to 200℃. Toss the pumpkin, kumara, beetroot and carrot with 2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon paprika, then spread out on a roasting try. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice. Set aside. While the chickpeas cook, start the soup and make the garnishes.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes then stir in the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir in the harissa followed by the tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes, stock and 500ml water and bring to the boil then add the lentils. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes until the lentils are tender. Stir in the fresh coriander and season to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the cumin oil, lightly crush the remaining 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds, heat a small frying pan to medium hot and toast the seeds for 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in the remaining ½ teaspoon of paprika then stir in the extra virgin olive oil and take off the heat. Set aside to infuse the flavours.
To make the fried parsley, heat about 1cm of oil in a small frying pan and add the parsley leaves, watch out as they will splatter. Fry for a few seconds then remove and drain on kitchen towel.
To serve, divide the roast vegetables between warm bowls and ladle over the soup. Top with spiced chickpeas, a drizzle of cumin oil and some fried parsley leaves. Serve with crusty bread.