‘Gourd vibes only’
Apologies for the delayed blog. We moved house to be closer to nature, both for the balance of my own temperament and my little one’s development. Moving house and ‘starting again’ is no small feat, throw in an under one and it can be somewhat hectic and overwhelming. When life starts to get a little crazed, my go to is a grounding soup, full of health and vitality to keep you going.
This soup is perfect for the situation, the autumn weather and the season. It has lentils for protein, spinach for iron (adding lime to help with your iron absorption) and pumpkin for grounding.
Pumpkins have long been used as a natural sedative. The earth element dominates pumpkin making it heavy, grounding and nutritive. The mild sedative effect, supported by its magnesium and potassium content, helps reduce tension in the body and relax the muscles. It also contains tryptophan which encourages sound sleep and a balanced mood by increasing serotonin.
In this recipe the heating spices, such as turmeric and mustard seeds are balanced by the cooling spices such as cumin and coriander. The spinach and fresh cilantro are an additional support for your liver.
Ingredients
- ½ tsp. mustard seeds
- 1 tsp. cumin seeds
- 1 shallot or 1 cup finely diced fennel
- 1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- ½ tsp. turmeric
- 1-2 cups roasted pumpkin
- 1 cup red lentils
- 1 cup chopped tomato
- 2 tbsp. lime juice (more to taste)
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup spinach
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (to serve)
Method
- In a 3-quart saucepan, add 2 tbsp. ghee or olive oil on a low heat. Add the mustard and cumin seeds, once they start to sizzle add the shallot/fennel, ginger, garlic, ground cumin, turmeric and coriander. Add 2 tbsp. water so they don’t dry out. Cook till soft, around two minutes
- Add the roasted pumpkin, lentils, tomato and 6 cups of water. Bring to the boil and then down to a simmer
- Cook for 20 minutes or until the lentils have dissolved into the soup
- Add the salt and lime. Add more to taste
- Add the spinach and cook together for 1-2 minutes, so that it wilts into the soup
- Garnish with cilantro before serving
