Lamb, Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

Lamb, Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

Serves: 6-8 people

• 115 g split black eyed beans or black turtle beans. I use 1 tin or 1 cups worth.
• 500g lamb meat with fat (such as neck or shoulder) cut into bite-size chunks
• 225g pumpkin roughly into 3cm cubes – a medium acorn squash or half a butternut squash is also delicious.
• 1 L lamb or beef stock (made with two stock cubes)
• 1 onion
• 2 black cardamom pods
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 green chilli (deseeded if you don’t want it to blow your head off)
• 1 tsp fresh thyme (use two leafy stems) or 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (optional)
• Salt and pepper for seasoning

1 If beans are dried, rinse with cold water and place in saucepan with fresh cold water to cover for 4 to 12 hours.

2 Cover the beans in fresh water and boil for 10 minutes on high and then simmer for 40-50 minutes; make sure it doesn’t dry out – add water if necessary. Drain the beans and leave to cool.

3 In another soup-sized saucepan, add the lamb chunks, thyme, bay leaves and stock, bring to a boil. Skim off any froth from the lamb with a slotted spoon, turn down the heat and simmer for 1 hour or more, until the meat is tender.

4 Add the pumpkin, onion, cardamom, caraway, chilli and season with salt and pepper to your taste.

5 Cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender.

6 Lightly mash the cool beans with a potato masher but try to retain some of the texture.

7 To serve, put a generous dollop of the mashed beans in the middle of the soup bowl and spoon over the lovely lamb and pumpkin broth.

8 Garnish with fresh coriander or croutons and/or serve with a doorstop wedge of your favourite bread.