I discovered this soup a few years ago, and I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s one of my favorite things to eat. I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest fan of soup in general (with some notable exceptions like a tomato soup to accompany a grilled cheese), but this one is different. I crave it, especially in crisp weather just like we’re having right now. As soon as the autumn squashes start taking over the produce section, I pull out the recipe.
I’ve been meaning to post this soup for awhile now, but something always gets in the way. Suddenly I’ve waited too long and it’s June. I accidentally deleted some photos. By the time I finished making it, it was too dark to photograph. And on and on. It feels like a real feat to finally push this out into the world.
To the extent it is possible for a soup to taste like love, this one does. You can also make it with hardly any ingredients. An onion, a few garlic cloves, a butternut squash, some red lentils, a lemon and a couple of spices. That’s really it. But the end result – almost-falling-apart squash, sweet sauteed onions, red lentils providing heft and texture, an entire lemon’s worth of juice, a pinch of cumin, some red chile flakes and a handful of garlic cloves fried in olive oil – is honestly kind of magical. It’s sweet, savory, smoky, spicy and sour. It begs for a piece of toasted pita for dipping and when you eat it you should be wearing wool socks and a sweater.
For some reason, I’ve been having a hard time lately writing posts and getting them to you. I’m still in the kitchen, but being a little bit easier on myself about sticking to a schedule and allowing myself to, you know, sit down sometimes on a Sunday instead of preparing 3 dishes and baking a cake. I think this is what finding balance looks like (???), so I’d just ask you to be patient, keep checking back and don’t give up on me! I’ll get the hang of this.
From The Gaza Kitchen
Ingredients
- 6-7 cups chopped pumpkin or butternut squash
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 6 cups water or broth
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- Juice of one lemon
- Olive oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel and cube squash into bite-size pieces. Rinse lentils and set aside. In a large pot, saute chopped onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil until golden. Add chopped squash and continue to saute an additional 3 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Add lentils and broth or water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 25 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Squash should fall apart at the touch of a spoon. Mix well with a wooden spoon or whisk, then stir in cumin, dried red pepper flakes and lemon juice. Adjust for salt and transfer to serving dish.
- Crush garlic with a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle, then in a separate pan, fry crushed garlic 3 tablespoons olive oil until golden. Pour garlic and oil onto the stew and serve hot with toasted pieces of Arabic bread and olives.
