Pumpkin and Yellow Split Pea Soup

It’s that time of year when the weather starts to cool off, the trees turn and everybody starts thinking of soup. The garden is full of big, fat pumpkins and squash, slowly revealing themselves as the plants die off. These wonderful crops define this time of year for many, in no small part thanks to Halloween, but to me they’re one of the most versatile ingredients that cost very little for such a large and giving plant.

Recently, as one of many of our idea orientated chats, Huw and I discussed the possibility of a soup making masterclass course, to help give people a solid understanding of stocks, flavour and limiting food waste. So I thought I’d test the water with a recipe that marries two of my favourite soupy ingredients, pumpkin and yellow split peas. For those who haven’t really used split peas much before, they come in two colours, yellow and green, and have been a staple in world cuisine from Europe to western Asia, particularly Iran. Yellow split peas also pop up in South Africa, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Fiji, India, all under the well known name ‘dal’, and in Beijing cuisine as a sweetened chilled pudding flavoured with osmanthus blossom and dates (called Wandouhuang). But my first encounter with them was in the Moroccan soup called tamaraqt, made with olive oil, garlic, onions and cumin, which I modified with a squeeze of fresh lime and a block of creamed coconut. It was delicious and strictly non-traditional. Since then I’ve been utterly in love with the ingredient.

Pumpkin and Split Pea Soup
Serves 4

• 1 small - medium pumpkin/squash (1 - 2kg)

• 1 White onion, diced

• 2 Carrots, diced

• 225g Yellow split peas (roughly 1-2 handfuls)

• 1 Clove garlic, crushed

• 100ml White wine

• A splash of cider vinegar

• 700ml Stock (liquid or powder in water)

• 2tbs Tomato paste

• 1 Bay leaf

• A handful of walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

• A drizzle of pouring cream

• Fresh parsley

• Salt and pepper

• Optional: 2tspn Goats butter / vegan butter

Step 1.

Dice the onion and carrots and add them to a large saucepan with oil or butter to sauté over a low heat for 20 minutes until soft, sweet and translucent.

Whilst the base ingredients sweat down, cut the pumpkin into 1cm cubes, leaving the skin on but remove seeds with a spoon. Set the seeds aside to toast with salt and sesame oil for a delicious snack. Add the pumpkin to the saucepan and turn the heat up to a medium high to begin to colour the vegetables. Stir every so often to avoid it catching the pan.

Step 2.

After 10 minutes, the pumpkin should have started to soften a little and brown as the moisture from the onions reduces. Rinse the yellow split peas and drain them, then add them to the saucepan with the white wine and cider vinegar. Let the wine reduce for 5 minutes until it becomes a demiglace, then add the stock, bay leaf, crushed garlic and tomato paste. Mix it all together, making sure there is enough stock to cover the ingredients, turn the heat to medium and half cover with a lid. Leave it to simmer for 45 minutes, stirring from time to time to make sure nothing sticks.

Step 3.

In a separate pan, dry toast the walnuts over a medium high heat until they begin to darken, tossing them around from time to time. When they release a full nutty smell, remove them from the heat and set them aside for sprinkling on top.

Test the seasoning and fish out the bay leaf, then, if you feel like an extra treat, add 2tspn of goats butter to stir it in until it has melted and combined. Serve with freshly picked parsley and a chunk of bread (in this case, cranberry bread). Top with walnuts and cream.