Pumpkin cream soup with red lentils

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 small pumpkin(s) (Hokkaido), about 1 kg
• 1 medium-sized onion(s), finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove(s), fresh
• 1 jar white wine, dry
• 1 liter chicken broth
• 1 piece(s) ginger, half-thumb-sized, finely chopped (as desired)
• 1 stalk of lemongrass
• Chili powder or 1 small chopped chili pepper, nutmeg
• 100 ml cream, fresh (as desired)
• 100 g lentils, red
• 1 jar white wine, dry, (just)
• 250 ml chicken broth
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 1 small onion(s) or shallot, finely chopped
• some salt and pepper
• some oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

simple but sophisticated in its composition

Quarter the pumpkin and remove the seeds and grass. Leave the skin on and dice the pumpkin. Sauté the onion in oil, add the garlic and pumpkin flesh and fry, then deglaze with wine and chicken stock, add the ginger and lemongrass, season lightly with salt, pepper, chili, and nutmeg, and simmer until the pumpkin flesh is tender. Remove the lemongrass and puree the soup in a blender until smooth, season to taste, and blend with the cream. For the lentils, sauté the onion or shallot in a little oil, add the garlic and red lentils, and deglaze with wine and chicken stock, using only enough stock to be fully absorbed by the lentils! After 10 minutes, season with salt and pepper. Half-fill a soup bowl with pumpkin soup and place a pile of red lentils in the center. If you want to intensify the color play even more, you can also make some pumpkin soup from a slightly lighter variety (e.g., butternut squash, but peel it first) and serve it appropriately. You don’t need anything else, but Vienna sausages, smoked trout or smoked salmon also taste good with it.