Recipe time!!!
Nov. 14th, 2007 08:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fenchurchAbout a week ago, I got a yen for pumpkin risotto. Not that I'd ever had any before... it's just that the idea of pumpkin risotto sort of crept into my brain and suddenly became irresistible (I blame all the pumpkins hanging around after Halloween). So, I did a quick search and found this recipe on Recipezaar. It was, as I'd been hoping, from someone in Australia... meaning the pumpkin was very likely butternut squash. However, I had no clue whether the cups and tablespoon mentioned in the recipe were in American measurements or Australian (I suspected the latter). I didn't want to go through the bother of doing the conversions, so I figured the ratios would remain the same, even if the amounts weren't quite right (and for those Americans on my flist without a kitchen scale, 15g of butter is about 2 Tablespoons. It turned out really well and was exactly what I was looking for... but it left us with quite a bit of leftover butternut pumpkin squash.
Last night, I decided to do something with it and dug out the cookbook![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
babyotto got for me from her daughter's kindergarten a few years ago. For some reason, American chefs seem absolutely convinced that pumpkin and squash HAVE to be cooked sweet (even moderately savory dishes will throw in a dash of nutmeg or clove or even cinnamon), but Australians really seem to know what they're doing. So, here it is, from Brunswick Kindergarten Family Favourites:
Lentil and Pumpkin Soup
A few notes first: As I mentioned above, the pumpkin used here is what Americans call butternut squash. Also, the original obviously used Australian cups and spoons, so I've converted the measurements to metric, since that ended up being the simplest way to handle things (although I do own a set of Australian measuring spoons). I figure most people should have some sort of measuring device in the kitchen that lists mililitres.
375 mL red lentils, washed (1.5 AU Cups)
20 mL oil (1 AU Tbsp) -- I used olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves crushed garlic
3 tsp ground cumin (let the teaspoonful round up a bit -- the difference here is .21 mL, so I'm not bothering with the conversion)
2 tsp chilli powder (see above, only with a difference of .14 mL)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1.5 kg butternut squash, peeled and chopped into fairly small pieces
1625 mL vegetable stock (6.5 AU Cups)
Sweat the onion and garlic in oil. Once the onions are becoming translucent, add the spices and cook for a few more minutes. Add the lentils, pumpkin/squash and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes, until the pumpkin/squash and lentils are cooked. Mash or blend with a stick blender. Add pepper to taste. The soup will be nice and thick, but shouldn't be lumpy. Serve immediately. VERY yummy!
Last night, I decided to do something with it and dug out the cookbook
babyotto got for me from her daughter's kindergarten a few years ago. For some reason, American chefs seem absolutely convinced that pumpkin and squash HAVE to be cooked sweet (even moderately savory dishes will throw in a dash of nutmeg or clove or even cinnamon), but Australians really seem to know what they're doing. So, here it is, from Brunswick Kindergarten Family Favourites:Lentil and Pumpkin Soup
A few notes first: As I mentioned above, the pumpkin used here is what Americans call butternut squash. Also, the original obviously used Australian cups and spoons, so I've converted the measurements to metric, since that ended up being the simplest way to handle things (although I do own a set of Australian measuring spoons). I figure most people should have some sort of measuring device in the kitchen that lists mililitres.
375 mL red lentils, washed (1.5 AU Cups)
20 mL oil (1 AU Tbsp) -- I used olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves crushed garlic
3 tsp ground cumin (let the teaspoonful round up a bit -- the difference here is .21 mL, so I'm not bothering with the conversion)
2 tsp chilli powder (see above, only with a difference of .14 mL)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1.5 kg butternut squash, peeled and chopped into fairly small pieces
1625 mL vegetable stock (6.5 AU Cups)
Sweat the onion and garlic in oil. Once the onions are becoming translucent, add the spices and cook for a few more minutes. Add the lentils, pumpkin/squash and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes, until the pumpkin/squash and lentils are cooked. Mash or blend with a stick blender. Add pepper to taste. The soup will be nice and thick, but shouldn't be lumpy. Serve immediately. VERY yummy!
