Pumpkin and Yellow Split Pea Soup

• Recipe by Melissa Rubel

In her reimagining of holiday pumpkin soup, F&W’s Melissa Rubel adds pumpkin to dal—the spicy, soupy Indian legume dish. The result is a hearty, healthy soup with a lovely edge of sweetness.

Ingredients

1. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2. 1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
3. 4 garlic cloves, minced
4. 1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
5. 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6. 2 cups yellow split peas, soaked in water for 1 hour and drained
7. 8 1/2 cups water
8. One 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin puree
9. 3/4 pound fresh sugar pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
10. 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
11. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. In a large pot, melt the butter. Add the onion, garlic and chile and cook over moderately high heat until the onion is softened, 4 minutes. Add the cumin and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the split peas and the water, then whisk in the pumpkin puree and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the split peas are tender, about 2 hours.
2. Stir the diced pumpkin into the soup and simmer over moderately low heat until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and serve.