Easy Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• ¾ cup red lentils
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried ground ginger
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
• Fresh ground pepper
• ¼ cup sour cream, plus more to serve (substitute Vegan Sour Cream or coconut milk for vegan)
• Homemade Croutons*, to serve
• Roasted salted pepitas, to serve

Instructions

1. Dice the onion. Mince the garlic.
2. Heat a dry soup pot (no oil!) to medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes until lightly browned and translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
3. Add pumpkin, broth, lentils, cumin, oregano, ginger, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then simmer for 15 minutes, until lentils are softened.
4. Transfer the soup to a blender and blend with the sour cream until smooth. Taste and add additional salt as necessary (we added about ⅛ teaspoon additional) — remember to cool it off since being very hot can dull flavors.
5. Pour the soup into bowls and garnish with homemade croutons, pepitas, and more sour cream.